Standing up to the Past
by Blackwolfhunting
Summary: After having Disappeared for Five Years, Ash turns to an old friend for help and surprises them by choosing to hide who he really is. Can he keep it a secret for long or will everyone know that Ash Ketchum has returned.
1. The Arrival

Chapter One

The Arrival

Pallet Town was home to Professor Samuel Oak, who was a Pokemon Researcher that had made several worthwhile discoveries in the decades he had taken on the job. He was getting old though and the discoveries that he was making weren't just himself now. He shared all of his credit with his grandson, Gary Oak.

Gary had gone out on a journey when he was young, traveling the world with his trusty Pokemon at his side and training them to become as strong as possible. He soon realized though that he wanted more than just training, to do more for the world instead of just making his Pokemon stronger.

He followed in his grandfather's steps and when he was fifteen, he was granted his own research laboratory and facilities in Viridian City, not to mention he was allowed to start his own Gym as well. He was to give out the Courage badge for each loss he faced against a trainer. He didn't lose all that often, especially with his ten years of experience.

Though he wasn't the original Gym leader there, Agatha had been with the Earth Badge, but the last one had decided she was getting too old and retired, leaving the gym without a leader. Gary had found out about it and since he had been a top trainer from Kanto he was given the job and was allowed to have his research facilities inside of the gym.

Which he was at right now, working on the research of the Eevee evolutions. This was an incredibly tough research though, due to the fact that the Eevee he was working with was deciding that it didn't want to cooperate and work with him. "Get back here!" Garry yelled as he tried to grab the Eevee, but failed as it gracefully dodged the attempt.

Gary fell straight on his face as his attack was dodged and looked up with an irritated look at the Eevee. "You know, you are being incredibly annoying right now, right?" He asked as he sat up and rubbed at his red nose.

The Eevee just swished its tail at him with what seemed to be a smirk on its face as well. Gary felt his cheek twitch slightly as he forced a smile on his face. "Alright, you want to be difficult, fine, I can play at that game." He stood up quickly and unattached a Pokeball from his belt, pressing the button to enlarge it and throwing it to release his Pokemon. "Umbreon, get that Eevee!"

The red light shot out of the Pokeball and released the moonlight Pokemon, who quickly glared at the Eevee. "Umbreon Um!" It announced as it quickly and easily pounced on the younger Pokemon, gripping it by the scruff of its neck and carrying it over to Gary, who patted the black Pokemon on the head with a smile.

"Good job Umbreon, now let's get these tests done so you two can go and play." He said as he led the cat like Pokemon and its pre-evolution to a steel table with a flimsy sheet over it. "Alright Umbreon, jump up and here make sure that Eevee doesn't escape." Gary ordered as he reached over and took a measuring tape and tablet with paper. He quickly went to work on measuring the Eevee and writing it down next to the last time he had done so, grinning as he realized that the little dog like Pokemon had gotten bigger and stronger. "This is great; you'll be evolving soon if you wish." Gary announced.

The Eevee looked happy about this announcement and yipped in happiness. The Umbreon watched in amusement and the little one jumped around happily before stopping and glaring at the Umbreon that was now apparently chuckling at it. Gary could only shake his head in exasperation as he picked the Eevee up and moved out of the room with the dark type right behind him. "Now then you two, play nicely." Gary said sternly as he set the Eevee on the ground outside where the sun was shining.

The two went off instantly to go and explore the property line, Umbreon making sure that the pup wouldn't just take off and escape from his trainer.

They played tag, Umbreon quickly moving away from the slower Pokemon and running off, laughing at the younger stage as Eevee tried to catch up to it. "Umbreon!" It shouted at the little brown dog, seeming to cause it to become angry.

"Eve!" It shouted back and quickly used its quick attack, catching up with a couple of bounds and tackling it to the ground. Umbreon looked up at it in amusement as the Eevee cheered its victory at being able to capture the elder evolution.

"Um, breon, um, um!" It congratulated as it quickly stood up and sat back on its hunches, watching the other rejoice at catching the elder with clear amusement.

But soon the elder looked worried as the other disappeared behind a bush and a clear sound of distress was heard from the other. "UM!" The Umbreon shouted and jumped over the bush to see the problem, only to see a very disturbing sight.

The Eevee was shivering in fright as it looked at the body that it had fallen over when it had taken off to get away from the Umbreon so as not to get tagged. The body was still and it didn't know whether it was alive or not and was frightened with the prospect.

The Umbreon looked at the body and sniffed it several times before prodding at it gently. The body quickly groaned in pain and Umbreon was quick to react. It jumped over the motionless person and grabbed a hold of the still startled Eevee, jumping back over and running towards the lab where it was going to get its trainer.

Eevee didn't even try to protest as it was settled down in the yard near the door as Umbreon ran inside of the laboratory and began to try and get its trainer's attention.

Gary was startled when he felt the tug to his lab coat, but he looked down and saw that it was his Umbreon. "What is Umbreon did something happen when you were playing with Eevee?" Gary questioned and the Moonlight Pokemon was quick to nod at its trainer before turning and rushing out the door.

Gary quickly followed him out, only stopping as he noticed that Eevee was right next to the door, shivering even though it was warm outside. "Wha?" He gasped but didn't have time as his Umbreon had turned back and grabbed his lab coat again; tugging hard in the direction that he wanted the other to go.

Gary blinked but didn't waste another minute as he followed his Pokemon. They quickly entered into the forest, causing Gary to dodge several branches as Umbreon led him to whatever he needed to see. He was about ten minutes in when he saw what had his Pokemon so upset.

It was a person wearing a brown traveling cloak that covered there head, their hands were uncovered though and were cut and red, it seemed to be the same for their arms as well. The blue jeans they wore were also tore and cut, red stains were on them signifying that they were hurt there as well.

"Good job Umbreon; let's get him to the lab now." Gary said as he pat his Pokemon on the head. Umbreon yipped at the praise as it watched its trainer pick the other up and carry them bridal style, hiding the others features still with the cloak still on.

"I wonder what happened to him." Gary muttered as he entered his lab, quickly setting the cloaked figure on the table and began to remove their cloak, but was stopped when he started to lower the hood.

"I don't think so." The figure rasped out as they sat up slowly, clutching their side in obvious pain. "I got to get going, but thanks." He said for it was obviously a male voice.

Gary frowned as he stepped in front of the other. "I don't think so, you're obviously hurt badly and I don't think you could last for much longer." Gary stated as his Umbreon appeared next to him, its eyes glowing a red with a Leer.

The stranger stopped cold as he looked at the Umbreon, and then up at the brunette again before chuckling. "Hehe, I guess I did show up at the right place then." He said before he fell over, unconscious.

Gary gasped as he quickly reached over to catch the other, succeeding as he smiled slightly, which was quickly turned into a frown. "What did he mean by that?" He wondered as he quickly picked the male up again, noticing this time how light the other was, not to mention small.

He quickly placed the other on the steel table again and removed the cloak fully this time, gasping as his eyes finally landed on a stressed out face. "It can't be!" He whispered as he looked the other over, his eyes landing on a golden miniature Pokeball necklace with a lightning bolt on it. "It just can't be."

Pokemon!

_"Wait! What do you mean he's gone!?" Gary asked as he looked at his grandfather in confusion, his fifteen year old mind not quite understanding what the elder was saying to._

_ Professor Oak sighed as he clasped his hands together and crossed his legs, looking at his grandson who had just jumped up from one of the green couches in the lab. "I don't know what else to tell you Gary, he just up and left. He didn't tell anyone what he was doing after the Sinnoh League. He was up against someone by the name of Paul and apparently something happened during that match." Oak explained the best he could to the boy, unsure of what else he could do._

_ "But that isn't like Ash! He wouldn't just up and quit like that! He has to have a reason to leave in the first place!" Gary exclaimed, confused over the whole thing. He knew his once friend well, the boy never having a reason to quit something until someone made him, so for him to up and quit the Sinnoh league like he had told Gary that something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong._

_ All Professor Oak could do was shake his head. "I don't know Gary, all I know was that I got a call from Ash and him telling me that he was going to continue traveling though he asked me to look after all of the Pokemon he caught while over there. He didn't even ask for any others in return." Oak announced as he looked at his hands, twiddling his fingers. "It didn't look like he had Pikachu with him either. Neither Dawn nor Brock have seen him since either."_

_ Gary looked at his grandfather, stunned and alarmed at the same time. "But that's not Ash, he wouldn't just…" Gary trailed off, unsure of what to say next._

_ Professor Oak smiled at his grandson sadly and nodded his head. "I would normally agree with you Gary, but something was much different about him this time. He seemed sorrowful." The professor's smile disappeared as worry over took him this time._

_ Gary looked down at the ground, his fists shaking in both his anger and worry. "I can't believe Ash would do something like this." _

_ Oak nodded his head as he looked at his hands. "Neither can I Gary, neither can I."_

_ Outside rain began to fall and all the Pokemon that Ash had caught began to roar or wail into the wind, causing a melodic sound that was beautiful and yet sad as well._

_Pokemon!_

He groaned as he felt himself return to the world of living, already knowing that he was somewhat patched up. His ribs still hurt from that blow he had taken from the Graveler earlier, not to mention the bite marks from the wild Rattata that had jumped out of nowhere, not to mention the flock of Spearow that had got him. He sighed as he remembered trying to just get to Viridian City, the pain he had to go to just so he arrived somewhat alive and alright.

The trip had been taxing to say the least, especially since he only had one Pokemon on him and it couldn't fly nor swim him here and so he was left walking the way there, only taking a ferry to get across large bodies of water, but that was it.

He was constantly scavenging food from either the forest or from people who would be kind enough to give him a sandwich here or there. He exceedingly small for his age because of this, not to mention malnourished from lack of nutrition. He could handle it though, thanks to his only Pokemon, which was strong for a pre-evolution.

Now though, he knew that he was safe in what felt like a bed, bandages wrapped around his torso, arms, and legs to cover scratches and bite marks he had earn on his travel there. He groaned again as he shifted and began to open his eyes to take a look around.

The light blinded him for several minutes before he was able to adjust and look around. The room was surprisingly plain, tan walls with a simple twin bed and a nightstand next to it, and what he could see a desk on the far wall. The door was next to the desk so he assumed that was his way out since there was only a wardrobe against the wall near the bed.

He slowly sat up on the bed, groaning again when he felt his ribs protest from the movement, but sat up either way. Once he was sitting up, he rubbed his face with one hand and looked around, his eyes landing on the nightstand that had a glass of water, a couple of aspirin, and his golden pendent and lone Pokeball. He quickly snatched the pendent and looked it over for any scratches, relieved when his search revealed none, and quickly put it back around his neck.

He smiled at the Pokeball as he swept his legs over the bed and over the side, setting them firmly on the ground, ignoring the fact that he was only in a pair of boxers at the moment. He stood up slowly, again ignoring the pain as he did so, grunting as he stood up straight finally and headed towards the wardrobe.

He opened it with ease and looked inside, happy to find a large purple long sleeve shirt and baggy black jeans inside. He knew that these had belonged to Gary when he was longer and knew that they would fit him just fine as soon as he pulled the shirt over his head. They were a little baggy on him, the shirt sliding over to show one of his bandaged shoulder, but otherwise the clothes would work just fine, especially after he rolled the jeans up a little bit so he didn't trip over them.

He grabbed his Pokeball and finally left the room, running his fingers through his long hair to try and unknot some of the rat nests that had settled in it when he was asleep. The halls were surprisingly empty for a gym and research facilities, so he had to guess that it was nighttime and that most people were either at home or asleep.

He shrugged to himself as he walked through the Gym, looking around and opening and closing doors to see if he could figure out where the kitchen was. He walked down a hall and stopped suddenly though when he saw a light down one of the opposite halls he was just about to pass. He looked down the hall and saw the door slightly open and the sounds of Pokemon coming from inside. He smiled at the thought of Pokemon residing inside of the Gym and quickly walked towards the door, hoping he could see some of his old friend's Pokemon before he saw Gary himself.

He peeked around the door and blinked in surprise when he saw the person he was looking for inside, grooming his Arcanine with a large brush. The Legendary Pokemon seemed to melt under the attention while the rest were trying to get their Trainer's attention so they too could get a good grooming.

He laughed lightly at the scene, catching the attention of the researcher and his Pokemon immediately afterwards. Gary smiled when he saw who it was and stood up from his Arcanine that winded in sadness due to the loss of grooming. "It's good to see you awake and moving; it's been three days since you've arrived." Gary announced as he walked over to the shorter male.

He shrugged his shoulders lightly in response as he looked at the Pokemon in the room with them. "You've trained all of your Pokemon really well Gary, they all seem so much bigger and stronger since the last time I saw them." He announced as he walked over to the now standing Arcanine and petted it on the head. "You look great Arcanine, you coat is shiny and soft and everything."

Gary watched him with a soft eye before it was replaced with a frown and he grabbed the other by the shoulder and turned him to get his attention. "Thanks for the compliments and everything," Gary started as he began to lead the other out of the room, "But I think we need to talk."

The other pouted but nodded his head and followed the other out of the Poke-room and down several hallways before coming to the kitchen. "Go ahead and have a seat while I get us something to drink." Gary said and the other did as told.

Once they both had something to drink, Gary sat down in his chair and stared at the other in front of him, examining him fully now that the other was awake. The male was only about five seven, short for his age but understandable if what Gary thought was true. He had long black hair trailing down his back and stopping in the middle, a couple strands of the hair was laid over his shoulders, tanned skin said how much time he spent outside, his hands elegant looking and covered in callouses, his cheek bones more defined than last he had saw him and his eyes narrower. Bandages covered several patches of skin, hiding away the scratches that he knew to lay on the male's arms and legs and any other body part available.

It was the eyes though that told him who the other truly was. The kind warm chocolate eyes that he had grown up knowing as a kid. The warmth and kindness that radiated from them and then burned with a fire that told of determination and courage that no one else could ever hold.

"So Ash, where have you been the last five years?" Gary asked as he took a sip of his tea, watching as Ash smiled at him softly before looking down into his own cup.

"To tell the truth Gary, I've been everywhere and nowhere all at the same time." Ash said as he took a sip of his own tea, his eyes saddened as he did so.

Gary frowned at this unsure of what the other meant. "Everywhere and nowhere, aren't those contradictory to each other. You must've been somewhere Ash, so where have you been, everyone has been worried."

Ash sighed as he stood up from his seat and began pacing, his arms crossed over his chest as he thought about what to say, about what he's been through, about where he's been, about what he done. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say or what was appropriate to say. "I don't know Gary; I just don't know what to tell you." Ash spat out as he looked at the floor anger and hatred.

Gary blinked in surprise at the tone the other had used, unused to the harsh tone that came from the normally kind hearted male. He became instantly worried as the other began to become increasingly irritated though, his feet slapping against the floor and his nails digging into his skin harshly.

"All I know is that after the Sinnoh League…," Ash gulped here and stopped for a second before continuing, "I went off and traveled on my own. I needed to think, to find out what I wanted to do or if I wanted to continue down the path I was heading. After a while I just gave up and decided to come to the one person I knew wouldn't push me into telling them anything." Ash burst out, his mouth moving faster than what his brain was moving. "The one person who always allowed me to be me without worrying about it or asking me if I was alright."

Gary looked at his childhood friend sadly as he listened to the other rant loudly, wondering if the other would be alright. "Ash." The raven haired boy stopped instantly, his hold on his arms loosening as he looked towards Gary with that same fiery look. "Sit down and tell me what happened at the Sinnoh League that made you question your determination." Gary demanded softly.

Ash looked at him with a look of pure and unadulterated disdain for several moments before sighing and sitting down again. He didn't move to talk though, his head bowed and his face shadowed, hair spilling over his shoulders as he waited for Gary to talk.

Gary watched his old rival closely and waited only several moments before he began his form of interrogation that Ash had allowed him to start. "Why did you return all of your Pokemon to Grandpa's lab? You didn't even take any new ones with you."

Ash sighed in relief at the question, knowing it would be the easiest one he could answer. "I didn't want them to come with me. This was my time to think, to allow me to contemplate whether or not to continue on the path to become a Pokemon Master. I decided that it would be best if I left them behind so I didn't harm them when I had some…violent thoughts." Ash admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

Gary blinked at the end of that explanation, new questions popping into his mind. "What do you mean 'violent thoughts?' You can't mean that you actually thought about killing yourself or your Pokemon did you?" Gary asked horrified at just thinking about the prospect.

Ash blinked up at him in surprise before he began to laugh at Gary's stunned face. "Oh my god! How destructive do you think I am!? I may have been reckless when I was little but oh god! No Gary, I don't mean I contemplated abusing my Pokemon or killing myself." Ash laughed so hard that he was holding his stomach, unsure of why that thought was so funny when it was more disgusting to him more than anything.

Gary sighed in relief as he slumped back in his chair before straightening again. "Then what did you mean by that?"

Ash calmed down quickly so he could explain more thoroughly of what he meant, he didn't need people thinking he was destructive or something. "I meant that I was having temper tantrums, I was losing my anger and taking it out on whatever was nearby, normally trees. I couldn't control my anger very well for a while after the Sinnoh League and I didn't want one of my Pokemon being on the other end of it when I lost it." Ash explained as he brought his hands onto the table to show the multitudes of scars covering his knuckles.

Gary gulped in horror, knowing that for that many scars to be there he had to have punched the trees really hard almost every day for a year. They were that badly busted up, leaving almost no unmarred skin around the knuckles and up the fingers. It was gruesome to look at but also an eye opener as well. "You may not have been suicidal, but I have to say that you were definitely self-harming."

Ash just shrugged his shoulders as he took his hands back and looked at them himself. "Well, I was just so angry and upset that I didn't know what else to do. I just couldn't control myself after that time so I let off steam the best way I could find." He admitted before he took a sip of his cooling tea.

Gary nodded his head as he looked at the table, hands folded as he contemplated his next question. "What made you so mad Ash? For you to lose your anger to harm yourself, what happened?"

Ash instantly went still and looked away from Gary, not willing to look the other in his eyes. He gulped as tears prickled his eyes and his hand moved up to the golden Pokeball pendent that he wore, clutching it as he closed his eye, tears falling down his cheeks. His heart hurt so much from just thinking about what had happened and he didn't even want to think about it. It just hurt too much to even contemplate.

Gary was instantly stunned at the display in front of him, not use to seeing his friend and rival acting the way that he was. He had not once seen Ash cry since they had begun their Pokemon journey, not even when the other boy had to leave his Pokemon behind so they could become strong in their own ways or because they had left to mate. Ash was normally so strong and brave, but to see him broken like he was, the pain and sadness…it was terrible.

"Ash." Gary whispered as he stood up and walked over to the other male, wrapping him in a hug that startled Ash for several seconds. "It's alright to cry. Whatever happened must've been traumatizing, it's alright. You'll feel better after you're done crying."

Ash shook his head as he closed his eyes again, digging his face into Gary's stomach. "I won't feel better Gary, I just won't." Ash announced as he grabbed a hold of the others shirt and held on.

Gary frowned at that but didn't say anything after that; he just waited until Ash was done crying before he did anything else.

Once Ash was done crying about three hours later, Gary let him go enough so he could look him in the eyes. "Look Ash, I don't know what happened to you or what caused this change in you, but I think it would be better if you stayed with someone." Gary said as he watched his rival's reaction.

Ash nodded his head tiredly as he rubbed at his eyes childishly. Gary smiled at the agreement as he looked down at the other again. "So I suggest that you stay here and work for me as an assistant of sorts."

Ash blinked in surprise as he looked up at his old friend and rival, his surprise decorating his face. "You mean it?" Ash asked skeptically and childishly, his eyes narrowing in slight suspicion.

Gary chuckled at the other and nodded his head. "Yes I mean it; you can stay here and work here." Ash gave him a soft smile and nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll work for you then." Ash said, eyes sparkling softly.

"I just have one more question."  
Ash looked at him in surprise and confusion as he looked at the elder. "Hm, what is it?"

"Where's Pikachu, I've never seen you go anywhere without him."

Ash's once bright eyes dulled incredibly fast and his hand reached up to the pendent around his neck, tears falling down his cheeks again, this time though he didn't move or say anything.

Gary blinked at the change, unsure of what he had said that had caused it. He looked closely at the pendent around the other's neck a moment later, taking in the gold Pokeball, unsure of why it was so important. It wasn't until he saw the lightning bolt emblazoned on it that he understood and his face turned horrified as he realized what had caused the change in one of the best trainers that he knew.

"Oh no." Was all the Oak was able to utter as he returned to Ash's side and held the other tight to his chest.

Neither was sure how long they stayed like that.

Pokemon!

A.N. Don't kill me, but I have a reason for everything that I'm doing right now, so no need to worry about it. All I want you to do is read and Review please and tell me what you thought of the beginning chapter of this story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did, though it was slightly sad at the end there.


	2. Reconnecting with Pokemom

Chapter Two

Reconnecting with Pokemom

**_Title is Deliberate!_**

"Alright, this is what you're going to do Ash." Gary said as he looked at the other male, showing him how where all of the Pokemon he had was. "These Pokemon are both mine and those that come in from either being abandoned or abused." Gary said as he walked over to his Nidoqueen. The creature allowed him to rub her nose gently before she went off towards a Nidoking that they had brought in a couple years ago.

Ash blinked in surprise at the amount of Pokemon in the room, which was a very large field that had a really high ceiling where the bird types could fly around safely and comfortably. The area could hold several Steelix inside and there was a small forest to the side if the Pokemon felt like going that way. "This place is huge." Ash announced as he looked around at the area and the Pokemon, smiling softly when he saw a Butterfree cuddling next to a Beautifly that had an injured wing. "This must be a Poke-paradise."

Gary smiled at the serene look that Ash sported, his long hair put into a high ponytail and wearing another set of his older clothes from when he was a trainer. "It is, I had it made so if we found any Pokemon in need we'd be able to help them here." Gary explained as he turned to the field. "I remember how well you worked with Pokemon, even those who didn't trust other Pokemon." Gary said, catching the other male's attention, "I want you to work with the Pokemon here and help them, even mine if you want. I want you to make them better, bigger, stronger and just in good health." Gary turned towards Ash with a serious face, hoping the other would take it.

Ash was blinking his eyes in surprise, not sure if he could really do what Gary wanted him to do. It had been a long time since he had actually helped a Pokemon, any Pokemon really, and he wasn't sure if he still had the magic touch or not. "I'm not sure Gary; it's been a really long time." Ash said as he looked at all the Pokemon in the room, all quite dangerous if he wasn't careful.

Gary frowned for a second before he smiled and walked over to Ash, grabbing his hand. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my nicest Pokemon, alright." Gary said as he began to lead Ash over to a small pond where a few water Pokemon were relaxing.

Ash blinked in surprise and stumbled as he was pulled behind the taller male. "Ah, Gary wait, I don't know if I can really do this." Ash said as he Gary finally stopped in front of the pond and whistled. Ash watched as a blue head appeared from beneath the water and then move towards them until the creature pulled it out of the water. Ash's eyes widened when he recognized it almost immediately. "Blastoise." Ash whispered.

The shellfish Pokemon looked at him with curious eyes, moving closer towards him until its face was right in his and sniffed him. Ash held abosolutely still, afraid it might attack even though he knew it wouldn't hurt him. It was hard to let go of years of avoiding dangerous Pokemon that were out to get him in the Eterna Forest or on Mt. Silver and several other places. He had learned to be cautious and careful around Pokemon that might want him dead. Ash blinked in surprise though when he was lifted up off his feet and held in a hug by the huge water type. "Blastoise! Blas blas, toise, blastoise!" It yelled out in a cheer.

Gary watched this with amusement as his oldest and closets friend pick the younger male up of his feet and swing him around in excitement. "I think he remembers you Ash." Gary stated the obvious as he chuckled.

Ash laughed as well as he nodded his head. "Hi to you too Blastoise, but do you think you could put me down now please?" Ash asked the giant Pokemon who nodded his head happily and set the human back onto his feet. "Thanks." Ash said as he patted Blastoise on its stomach, eliciting a happy hum from the Pokemon.

Gary smiled again before patting the other on the shoulder. "If anything was to happen Ash, all you have to do is call on Blastoise and he'll come and help you immediately. I trust him with my life, will you do the same please?" Gary asked as he looked Ash in the eye.

Ash looked at him with wide eyes before his head bowed to the ground and his fists clenched. "I guess with an argument like that, I can't really refuse it can I now." Ash said as he smiled at the researcher and Gym Leader.

Gary smiled at him and reached his hand out towards the other. "Then welcome to the Viridian Gym and Research Facilities Ash Ketchum." Gary said with a smug tone.

Ash rolled his eyes at him and took his hand, shaking it firmly with his own smile. "Good to be here." Ash said as he released the hand. He looked at Gary for a moment before frowning though as a thought came to mind. "You aren't going to tell anyone I'm here, right?" He asked shyly.

Gary stared at Ash in surprise, unsure of what to say for several moments. "Well, I was going to call your mom and grandpa to tell them that your back, I would guess that they would call everyone else to inform them that you're here." Gary said as he looked Ash over and noticed how pale the boy had gone. "Why, do you not want anyone to know?"

Ash gulped and shook his head at the thought of people knowing where he was. "I don't, I can't stand the thought of all the questions, I just can't!" Ash yelled out as he looked at the ground with a glare, hands fisted again.

Gary frowned at the boy before sighing and rubbing his head. "I have to tell at least your mom Ash, she's been worrying for the last few years. When everyone thought you were dead, she held on. She still thinks you're alive and you are! Don't you think she deserves to know?!" Gary shouted at the end as he glared at the younger male.

Ash glared at the ground as he felt the pricks in his eyes, signaling that tears were wanting to fall. He knew his mom would miss him, but he had thought that she'd have moved on after a while; continue her life with Mr. Mime. He had never thought she would wait for him, after all, he had never waited for himself and he didn't think he was worth waiting for since he had caused people so much pain when he left without notice.

"She waited?" Ash asked in a whisper as he glanced up at Gary through his lashes and the bangs of his hair. "She's waiting for me still? But why?" He asked desperately.

Gary stared at him with a sorrowful look for a moment before nodding his head. "She wouldn't listen to any of us when we told her that you were most likely dead. She kept telling us that you were alive somewhere, that you were okay, that you were going to come back. We gave up after a while and now Grandpa and Misty are the only ones who go and see her now." Gary explained as gently as he could. "She never gave up hope that you would come home."

Ash couldn't believe it, he really couldn't. He would've thought she would've given up, that she would've just kept living her life, especially since it wasn't the first time she had lost one of her loved ones, his dad had left them when he was little and had never returned. "She waited." He whispered to himself as he wrapped his mind around it. "She believed I was alive." He said a bit louder, tears prickling in his eyes. "She Waited!" He finally yelled as he fell to his knees, tears pouring down his face as he yelled out in pain and happiness.

Gary smiled as he knelt onto the ground and brought the other male to his chest, holding him there as Ash cried.

Blastoise just watched in its own sadness, not quite sure why the other was crying, but knowing that it was needed for the other to heal. The Pokemon was just happy that his trainer was helping the one that was caring.

Pokemon!

They walked down the path, both in their own worlds as they moved along, hoping it get to Pallet Town by the end of the day. Ash was currently fidgeting with his hands that were now encased in new black fingerless gloves, wondering what his mother would do once he showed up again. "Are you sure that Professor Oak won't tell her?" He resorted to asking Gary again, his mind in a panic.

Gary just rolled his eyes at the other male, wondering when Ash had become so nervous and shy. "Yes, he said he'd keep it a surprise for her and that he wouldn't even tell Tracy. Now calm down, everything will be alright." Gary reassured.

Ash gulped and nodded his head as he pulled on the brim of his new cap to hide his terrified face. He still couldn't believe that Gary had taken him out to get new clothes, though Ash had chosen to go with clothes that would hide who he really was. It had surprised Gary on his choice of clothes and slightly embarrassed him as well since he hadn't had to go to the teenage girl's isle since he lived with his sister.

Ash had chosen to go with a blue button up blouse that had long sleeves so he could hide his hands if he wanted, with a white shirt underneath, hiding the fact that he didn't have breast, along with blue jeans that showed off his slightly curved hips that he must've gotten from his mother, and then he'd gone with black tennis shoes from the girl's isle as well. His new hat was red with the Indigo League symbol on it like his old one, except the once white part was now black and the symbol itself was white. He had his hair braided so it hung down his back and out of his face. The final touch was his golden Pokeball pendant around his neck, glinting in the sun as they walked.

He had thanked Gary profusely for the clothes, even though Gary didn't really understand why Ash had chosen to hide as a girl, but he knew that the younger man must've had a reason for it. Though when Gary looked Ash over, he had to admit, that Ash made a good looking girl and could fool anyone as long as he didn't speak, this was also at the point that Gary had come up with an idea to cover that up for Ash as well.

The once Pokemon trainer was surprised when Gary had given him an earpiece that looked like a Bluetooth, but in fact changed his voice into a more feminine one. Gary had explained how it work by using his original voice as a base and then using other female voices to change it so he could sound like one of those girls. Ash had been speechless, not to mention curious about other advancements that the world had made while he was gone.

Now though, Ash was thankful because as they walked through the city, he didn't have to be quiet to keep people from finding out that he wasn't a girl after all. It helped that Gary would wrap his arm around his shoulder whenever a male tried to come up and talk to him as well.

Ash continued to think about everything that Gary had done for him since the ex-trainer had returned from his self-exile. He knew that Gary didn't need to help him, that the other most likely wouldn't have helped him when he was younger, but the fact remained that Gary did help him now. The other did everything he could do to help his old friend and rival with starting again, even though Ash had done some questionable things already that had surprised the other.

"You know Gary," Ash began as he twiddled with his fingers again; "I really appreciate what you've done for me. You didn't have to so, thanks." Ash finished quietly, his female voice making it sound shy and unsure. Gary laughed as his head flew upwards, he just couldn't believe that this person next to him really was Ash; he was just too quiet and calm. Ash's face turned red instantly as he thought that Gary was laughing at him. "Hey! What's so funny! I was being serious you know!" He yelled out, his face still quite red.

Gary shook his head as he calmed down, wiping his eye to keep a stray tear from falling. "It's not that I find you in particular funny, just how much you've changed from being brash and loud. It's weird that you're quiet and calm like this." Gary explained as he looked at Ash with a smile.

Ash hmphed and turned his head away from Gary with his arms crossed, his pride slightly insulted. "I can be calm when I want to be, people change." Ash said defensively, ignoring the chuckling coming from his boss.

Gary rolled his eyes again as he looked up at the sky. "I know that, it's just weird for me. I'm used to seeing you loud and brash, saying stupid things and just being an annoyance. I sometimes forget that even the stupid can have good ideas." Gary retorted smugly as Ash turned back towards him with a tick mark and anger flaring in his eyes.

"I'm not stupid! Just because I didn't go to all those fancy schools that you did doesn't make me stupid! I just excel in a different area." Here Ash smirked as he pulled a Pokeball off of Gary, throwing it and releasing the Arcanine that Gary had brought. "For example, I can get your Pokemon to listen to me and ignore you." With that Ash ran towards Arcanine and jumped onto him. "Let's get going Arcanine, your trainer is being mean to me and I think he deserves to be punished for that." Ash said as he pulled the skin under one eye down and stuck his tongue out at a surprised Gary. "See ya!" And with that the Legendary Pokemon and Ash disappeared down the road.

Gary watched as his Pokemon and new employee disappeared down the road, leaving him stranded, stunned. "He's only been working with my Pokemon a week and they already listen to him better." Gary muttered as he shook his head in surprise. It finally registered on him that he had been left behind while Ash had gone ahead and his eyes narrowed. "I have more than one Pokemon." Gary said as he threw a Pokeball into the air and released a Skarmory.

"Skar!" It cried out as it threw its wings out, spreading them in the air and then refolding them back to its body and looking at Gary expectantly.

Gary smiled at it and patted its nose. "Alright, let's get going Skarmory, we can't let Ash get the better of us after all." Gary said as he hopped onto the back of his steel type's back.

"Skarmory, mory, skar!" It cried as it took to the air, flying towards Pallet and easily catching up to Ash, who was now relaxing against Arcanine's back. "Skar!" Skarmory roared, stopping Arcanine in its tracks and causing Ash to look up.

"Gary! I didn't know you had a Skarmory!" He called up as Gary stopped just long enough to smirk at him.

"You don't know everything about me Ashy-boy! Now let's see who gets to Pallet first, now shall we?" Gary said as he and Skarmory took off again, leaving behind a fuming Ash.

"Hey! Flying is cheating Gary! Hey! Wait for us!" Ash called as the sound of Gary laughing sounded from ahead.

Pokemon!

"Hey, there you are! What took you so long?" Gary asked as he leaned against his grandfather's house. "Me and Skarmory have been here for at least fifteen minutes." He gloated as he watched his Arcanine walk up with a fuming Ash at its side.

"Well, Arcanine may be fast, but he can't exactly fly! That and I gave him a ten minute rest before we got here! I didn't want to overwork him!" Ash exclaimed as he glared at his friend. "You should know that I'm not going to overwork your Pokemon when you might need them in a battle at any moment." Ash said as he turned his back on Gary and began to run his fingers through the Legendary's mane.

Gary sighed as he shook his head and raised his hands into the air like he was saying, 'What could you do?' Finally he let his hands fall to his side and clapped a hand on Ash's shoulder. "I'm sorry Ash; I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant to play against you, I forgot that you'd stop and care for Arcanine before anything else." Gary said as he pulled out a Pokeball and recalled Skarmory.

Ash sighed and nodded his head as he looked at Arcanine. "It's okay, I probably shouldn't have done that, but you have a tendency to rile me up." Ash explained as he pulled out Arcanine's Pokeball and recalled the Pokemon as well, handing Gary the Pokeball afterwards.

Gary shrugged his shoulder and smirked at Ash. "It's a talent of mine." He said as he knocked on the door, ignoring the fuming Ash once again. The younger male was about to whack Gary on the head when the door opened, revealing Professor Oak. "Hey Grandpa, we're here." Gary said, ducking as Ash took a swing at him.

Ash blinked in surprise when he realized he missed his target and had put too much momentum behind his attack, causing him to fall forward onto his face. "Well, you haven't changed a bit Ash my boy, or is it girl now?" Professor Oak asked bemusedly as he looked down at the young man.

Ash groaned as he sat up and rubbed his nose, wondering why everything happened to him. "I'm still a guy Professor; I just don't want people knowing I'm back is all." Ash admitted as he finally looked up at the person who had changed his life when he was ten. "It's good to see you Professor." Ash said as he stood up, reaching a hand to the other man.

The eldest Oak looked at Ash with serious eyes, causing Ash to become nervous as he waited for a reaction. Finally after a moment Oak grabbed Ash and gave him a bone crushing hug. "We all thought you were dead." Oak said as he held the boy who he considered a second grandson close.

Ash's eyes softened as he heard this, hugging the elder man back, ignoring that his hat had fallen off when he was grabbed. "I'm sorry Professor; I didn't mean to worry anyone." Ash said as he hugged the older man back.

It was a few minutes later that Prof. Oak released Ash and stood back, coughing into a hand to clear his throat and to blink away his tears. "Well, it's good to see you again Ash, even though it seems you've had a drastic change in style." He said with a smile on his face as he motioned for them to come through and into the living room. "I sent Tracy off, telling him he had the day off and to do whatever he wanted, just that he wasn't allowed back at the lab till later tonight." Oak told them.

Ash sighed in relief as he took a seat on the couch and looked around the room. It was the same from long ago, the green couches and pictures of him, Gary, both of their mothers, and several different Pokemon as well. His personal computer was in the corner of the room and a set of stairs that went up and another that went down while there was a hallway that went to the kitchen. "I missed this place." Ash admitted softly as he looked at the pictures of old times.

Both Oaks smiled gently at him before the Professor coughed again to catch their attention. "Would either of you like something to drink while we wait for Delia to come?" He asked them politely.

"Yeah, I'll have some tea if you don't mind." Gary said as he sat next to Ash.

Ash shook his head in the negative and looked out the window that showed the field of Pokemon outside. A sudden thought struck the boy and before Professor Oak could leave he called out, "Can I go out and see my Pokemon?"

Prof. Oak blinked in surprise and looked at Ash before smiling at him. "Of course you can, they're right outside. You should still be able to call them without too much problem." He said as he disappeared through the door and to the kitchen.

Ash was quick to move, opening up the window and jumping through it. "There's a door you know!" Gary called out after him, but Ash ignored him so he could find his Pokemon instead.

He ran around the yard for a few minutes before he finally spotted one of his Pokemon, one he hadn't seen in a long time, even before he had left Sinnoh. "Bulbasaur!"

The seed Pokemon looked up in surprise at being called and cried out in just as much surprise when it was tackled by an unknown person. It went to react against the intruder until the scent finally flooded its nostrils. It looked up at the figure that was holding it, looked into their warm chocolate eyes and knew exactly who it was.

"Bulbasaur!" The Seed Pokemon exclaimed in excitement as it rubbed its nose against its trainer cheek, claiming happily at him.

Ash laughed with it, even though his voice was different at the moment, the plant type still knew who it was. "It's so good to see you Bulbasaur, I can't believe how much I missed you." Ash exclaimed as he hugged his Pokemon.

"Bulba, bul, bulbasaur!" The Pokemon replied and licked Ash on the cheek.

"I missed you." Ash said as he finally stood back up, the plant type still in his arms. "Now where are the others Bulbasaur, can you show me?" Ash asked and the Seed type nodded its head eagerly and pointed in a direction, not interested in leaving its trainer's arms anytime soon.

Ash nodded his head and went in the direction of the pond where he saw several Pokemon swimming, but a few caught his attention. "Buizel! Corphish! Kingler!" Ash called out to the three water types, each one staring at him in surprise before Bulbasaur said something to them.

Once Bulbasaur explained everything, the three instantly tackled him, all exclaiming happily over him. Ash hugged each one happily and told them how much he had missed them before standing up and asking where the others were as well. He continued to carry Bulbasaur while the three water types followed him as he went on a hunt for his other Pokemon.

It was the same reaction from his Muk, Snorlax, Totodile, Heracross, Quilava, Torkoal, Glalie, Sceptile, Staraptor, Swellow, Torterra, Infernape, and Noctowl. His Bayleaf had sent him flying several feet after it had seen him; apparently it was angry about him disappearing with no word or visit and had shown it effectively. Thankfully neither he nor Bulbasaur were hurt from the tackle and Ash apologized to it until it finally forgave him and nuzzled him happily, glaring at Bulbasaur who still rested in Ash's arms. All of his Tauros had surrounded him and nuzzled him the best they could before they took off running again to feed.

The biggest surprise out of all of his Pokemon though was when he found his Gible, which wasn't a Gible anymore. The Land Shark Pokemon had evolved while he was gone and was now a Gabite that stared at him with wide eyes. "Oh my god! You evolved!" Ash exclaimed as he set Bulbasaur down for the moment. "I can't believe it!" He continued as he approached the surprised Gabite and hugged it gently. "I'm so proud of you; I can't believe I missed that!" Ash continued as he looked over his Gabite.

The Cave Pokemon looked confusedly at Bulbasaur, who told him who it was that was checking it out at the moment and once the Gabite understood who it was that was looking him over, he reacted…Violently.

Ash jumped back just in time to avoid the Dragon Claw, but soon had to dodge to the side as DragonBreath flew over him. "Hey, wait Gabite! Hold on I can explain!" Ash exclaimed as he dodged another Dragon Claw that just about cut him open. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you like that, but I had to go." Ash said as he ducked another Dragon Claw. "I'm really sorry; I didn't mean to leave you." Ash called out.

Gabite stopped long enough to glare at its trainer before stocking off, its tail slamming against the ground before it disappeared back into the forest that they had found it in. Ash watched it sadly as he sat on the ground, wondering how he was ever going to make it up to not only Gabite, but all of his Pokemon.

"Hey Ash, come on in, she's just down the road!" Gary called out to the sitting boy.

Ash turned and nodded his head with a sad smile before standing up. "Wanna come with me Bulbasaur?" Ash asked as he looked down at the Seed Pokemon.

"Bulba!" It exclaimed excitedly and a nod of its head. Ash smiled and picked it back up, causing some jealously to ripple through the group of Pokemon, even Snorlax reacted to it as well.

"Don't worry you guys; I'm not going to leave you, not again, not ever." Ash said as he walked back to the laboratory with his grass type held happily in his arms. "I'll be back and explain everything after this, I promise you that." Ash said as he jumped through the window again and sat on the couch, ignoring the glare from Gary.

"There is a door ya know! Plus it's considered rude to enter through another's window." The Gym leader said with a scowl on his face.

Ash just rolled his eyes as he sat Bulbasaur on his lap and scratched the bulb on its back. "It was open and it was the easiest way in, I didn't want to waste time." Ash replied easily as he looked towards the entrance way nervously.

Gary noticed his friend's nerves and sighed before a smile appeared on his face. "She's going to still love you Ash, don't worry." Gary said reassuringly as he moved over to sit by the male's side.

Ash gulped and nodded his head in acceptance, though he didn't calm down as he began to scratch Bulbasaur's bulb again just to give his hands something to do. "I know, but if her temper is still the same, then I'm in for a good yelling now." Ash replied quietly.

Gary chuckled as he patted Ash on the head, cap and all. "Well, I think you deserve it for worrying her and not contacting her during all this time." He replied easily, getting a glare from Ash.

"I had my reasons." Ash snarled as his hand reached down to his Pokeball belt reflexively, only just pulling back as his fingers skimmed the lone Pokeball. "That reminds me." Ash said as he thought about all the Pokeballs he'd need to carry with him after this visit. "I want to ask you something Gary."

Gary looked at the raven haired male with curiosity. "Okay then, shoot." He said easily, waiting to hear what the other wanted.

Ash fiddled with his pendant for a minute as Bulbasaur looked up at him with worried eyes and the stare from Gary weighing on him. "I was wondering if…if you don't mind that is…if I could….if I might be able to….you know." Ash motioned towards the window where Gary was able to see a crowd of Pokemon gathered around said window watching Ash.

"Um, I'm guessing this is about your Pokemon then, what about them?" Gary asked as he scratched his head as he waited for Ash to finish his question.

Ash blushed slightly as he gulped again, fingers nervously fiddling with his Pokeball pendant again. "Well…could we possibly…take them back…with us?" He finally asked as he glanced at Gary out of the corner of his eye.

Gary blinked in surprise before smiling at Ash. "Of course we can Ash, I don't see a problem with that, especially since we have plenty of room at the Gym, not to mention this could help some of the more abused Pokemon there as well, especially that Tauros we just got in a couple of weeks ago." Gary said as he began to think about all the possibilities that Ash's Pokemon could bring to his gym. "You think I could even use some in a gym battle sometime?"

Ash blinked in surprise at how easily Gary had accepted his request, but then smiled as he realized he probably shouldn't have in the first place. "Yeah, you can. I'm sure a few of them would love to be in a battle again and wouldn't mind listening to you…as long as I'm there that is." Ash said as he nodded his head.

"Bulba, Bul, bulba, bulba, bulbasaur, saur!" Bulbasaur said as he looked up at Ash in excitement, confirming what Ash believed.

"Looks like Bulbasaur is ready to battle whenever you want Gary!" Ash said with a laugh.

Gary laughed as well at the excitement of the little Seed Pokemon, knowing that even though it was only the first stage for its kind, which caused this Bulbasaur to be exceedingly strong because it refused to evolve. "I can't wait." Gary said as he patted the bulb on the grass type's back. Bulbasaur preened under the attention and Ash watched in contentment as he now had his Pokemon back.

That was when the door opened and Professor Oak welcomed the person into the building. Ash looked up sharply when his mother entered the room, looking confused while Prof. Oak told her not to panic or freak out as he explained the situation. She looked the same as ever, only now she had some gray hairs and crow's feet around her mouth and eyes, along with worry lines on her forehead.

When Delia Ketchum's eyes looked towards him, Ash instantly stood up, holding Bulbasaur tightly against his chest and looking at her nervously. The woman stared at him in astonishment and happiness all at the same time. "Hi mom." Ash said and was surprised when the next moment he was engulfed in his mother's arms.

"Ash, my baby, my sweet sweet baby! Oh how mommy has missed you!" Delia exclaimed as she held onto her son, one hand in his hair and the other on his neck as she cried in joy. "I knew you weren't dead, I just knew it! They told me you were most likely dead but I never believed it! I knew you would come back!" She cried out as tears ran down her face in joy.

Ash gulped as he stared at nothing while he was in his mother's arms, tears falling down his face as well as he took in the warmth of her arms. He might've been twenty, but he would always love having his mom hug him, especially after the hell he had gone through in Sinnoh. "I'm sorry mom, I'm so sorry!" Ash exclaimed back as he wrapped one arm around his mom, the other holding a somewhat squished Bulbasaur between the two.

The mother and son both cried in happiness and sadness as they held onto each other, all the while two Oaks stood behind them as their protectors and witnesses.

That night, Ash reunited with his mother and his Pokemon.

That night, Gary saw a light that seemed to have disappeared, flicker in Ash's eyes again.

Pokemon!

A.N. Hooray! Happy reunion between a mother and son and Pokemon and Trainer! What will happen next! Who will Ash face next or will he stay hidden. Maybe we'll see the mysterious Pokemon that Ash has next. This is not a Slash! There are practically no pairings in here at all! Maybe a mention of an old couple, but I doubt it! Not a Slash! Who knows! I do, so until next time! Review please!


	3. Working in the Gym

Chapter Three

Working in the Gym

"Gah!"

"Ashley!"

"I'm fine! Get that Dragonite under control though; we can't let it go terrorizing the city again!" Ash called out as he stood up on shaky legs, feeling the bruise he would have on his chest the next day for sure. "I can't believe this dragon." Ash muttered as he walked ran back over to the crowd of scientists that were trying to keep the Pokemon from destroying anymore of the sanctuary.

The Dragonite had been brought in a couple of days ago after being knocked out before it could attack another building. No one was sure why the creature had gone on a rampage before or how it had gotten to Viridian without anyone noticing in the first place. Either way, the Dragonite was now roaring and releasing hyper beams, dragon breath, and flamethrower all over the place, destroying trees and grass areas in its rage.

Ash watched as the scientists were finally thrown to the side from the use of a power Dragon tail, sending them flying. Gary had been able to dodge the attack and was now attempting to calm the beast down again. They didn't have much time left, especially if Officer Jenny arrived with the dart gun, the officer having ordered them to get it taken care of or she would did it herself.

The Pallet Town trainer gritted his teeth as he moved back in front of the Dragonite, in reach of it if it decided to attack. "Hey!" Ash called out, stunning Gary who had been preoccupied with dodging another Dragon breath. "Look at me you sorry excuse for a lizard!" Ash yelled as he pulled a Pokeball from his belt, ready to release his last resort option to calm this thing down.

The Dragonite looked at him with angry eyes, a snarl on its face as it bore over Ash, trying to intimidate him. Ash just raised an eyebrow that was hidden by his hat, waiting for the dragon to continue. The dragon blinked in surprise before backing up, looking at Ash confusedly, a claw up towards its mouth as if it was going to scratch its chin. "Draaa….?" It said as it looked at Ash again.

"Yeah, I've seen worse." Ash replied as he put his Pokeball back, knowing that he wouldn't be needing that Pokemon just yet. "You're not scary at all, just scared aren't you?" Ash stated as he reached a hand towards the Dragonite. The creature looked at the hand warily before looking at Ash again. "It's alright; I'm not going to do anything to you." Ash stated as he held his place.

The Dragonite kept its eyes on Ash as it slowly moved forward, bowing its head as it nuzzled the hand gently. Ash smiled gently as his eyes rolled up in his head and he fell to the ground, stunning not only the even more confused Dragonite, but Gary and his aids that had been trying to help also. "Ash!" Gary yelled as he moved towards Ash, only to stop dead in his tracks as the Dragonite growled at him.

Gary gulped as he stopped where his was and raised his hands in surrender. "Look Dragonite, I'm not going to hurt you." Gary said as he looked the Dragon Pokemon in the eyes. "I just want to help Ash. That's all I swear, so please, let me help him." Gary said as he began to move slowly again towards where Dragonite was standing to the side of an unconscious Ash.

Dragonite watched him carefully; unsure of what to really do at the moment, but knowing that the small human that had stood up to him was hurt. It didn't like that the human was hurt, but it didn't know what to do, so he watched with a careful eyes as Gary moved towards Ash, not once letting the human out of its sight.

Gary sighed in relief when he reached the downed Ash, knowing that the younger male had taken a huge hit to the chest from a Dragon Tail earlier. So with careful ease he lifted up the other's shirt and looked at the already swollen and bruised chest. He couldn't help but grimace at the sight as he pulled out one of the Pokeballs he had put on his belt when they had released the Dragonite into the Sanctuary. "Arcanine, I need your help!" Gary called out as his Legendary Pokemon appeared, shaking its fur out as it appeared.

The Dragonite was instantly on the offensive as it moved to attack Arcanine; only to be stopped as another red light appeared, showing Blastoise standing in front of it with a menacing glare. The Dragonite flinched long enough for Gary to get Ash onto his fire type's back and get him out of the room. Once Gary was sure that Ash was out of the room and safe with the other Aids, he turned back towards the now fiercely growling Dragon.

"Oh, this is going to be bad, I just know it." Gary said as he looked at the enraged Dragonite. "Alright Blastoise, Rapid Spin!" Gary called out; watching as his water type immediately did as told and disappeared in its shell, spinning rapidly as it flew at the dragon. Because it was so enraged as well, the Dragonite couldn't focus enough to dodge the attack and took it full force, crying out in pain. "Good job, now go for an Ice beam!" Gary called out.

Blastoise reappeared and a blue beam appeared in its mouth, sending the beam at the still cringing Dragonite, hitting it head on. "Gaaa!" The Dragon yelled in pain as its chest was encased in ice, prohibiting it from using its wings effectively anymore.

Gary nodded as he looked at his Blastoise again. "Alright, use another Ice beam and freeze it to the spot." Blastoise nodded and did as told, firing another ice beam. Only this time the Dragonite reacted to it and dodged out of the way, sending a hyperbeam at the Shellfish Pokemon.

Blastoise roared in pain as it was sent flying backwards, sliding across the ground and coming to a stop about ten yards from where it had originally been standing. "Blastoise! Are you alright?" Gary called out and sighed as his Pokemon stood back up. "Alright, another rapid spin, except use a water gun at the same time." Gary commanded and watched as his Pokemon did as told. The Dragonite was frozen in place as it watched the display of power from the other, unable to dodge as the attack landed a direct hit.

The Dragonite roared in pain again as it fell to its knees, unable to take anymore. Gary sighed as he pulled an empty Pokeball from his back pocket and walked towards the downed Dragonite. "I'm sorry about this, but it's either this or Jenny will take you." Gary said as he threw the ball at the Dragon type, hitting it directly on the head with the ball.

He watched as the ball moved around, the red light beeping constantly as it fought to contain the strength of the Dragonite. Finally though the red light went out and the ball stayed still. "Looks like I caught a Dragonite." Gary said bitter sweetly as he picked up the Pokeball and put it into his lab coat pocket.

"Professor! You caught the Dragonite!" An aid said excitedly as he looked at Gary with wide eyes. "That's great, maybe now we can figure out why it was so angry."

Gary smiled at him and nodded his head. "Yeah, that's what I hope for as well. Anyways, release all the Pokemon back into the Sanctuary and repair what the Dragonite destroyed, I'm going to go and check on Ashley, alright." Gary said as he walked away, leaving behind the aid that was telling the others the orders.

Gary sighed as he walked down the hall, pulling out the Pokeball that now held the Dragonite, wondering if he'd even be able to tame the thing for battles, let alone be able to become its friend. "Maybe I should give it to Ash, it seemed like it liked him anyways." Gary said as he walked into the infirmary only moments later, his head rising to see Ash sitting up in the bed already, petting the Arcanine on its head. "Hey, you're awake."

Ash looked at him, his hat no longer on his head, and smiled at him. "Yeah, I can't believe I fainted from such a hit though! It was pathetic! I didn't even get a broken rib, just some bruising." Ash said as he looked at Gary before looking at the Pokeball in his hand.

Gary looked towards the Pokeball as well as he sighed and moved over to Ash. "After you were able to calm it down somewhat, you fainted and when I removed you from the room the Dragonite went ballistic." Gary explained to a serious faced Ash. "I was left with no choice but to catch it." Gary said sadly, knowing that he normally wouldn't catch a Pokemon like this one, but he didn't have another choice if he didn't want Officer Jenny to put it out.

Ash gulped and nodded his head as gave a soft smile at Gary. "I understand, it happens and I'm sure it'll be taken real good care of as well." Here Ash smirked cockily with his nose in the air. "Especially since I'm the one training your Pokemon and taking care of them."

Gary rolled his eyes with a smile of his own touching his lips before he dumped the Pokeball onto Ash's lap, surprise the raven haired male. "Anyways, I thought you might like him more than me anyways. That and I'm sure it'll be happier with you as its trainer." Gary explained as he took a seat next to Ash.

Ash looked at the Pokeball with soft eyes, toying with an idea before tossing it away. "Thanks Gary, I'll take him but not as a trainer, as a friend that wants to help a Pokemon in need." Ash said as he shook his head softly. "I haven't been a trainer for five years and just because I've been working here for a month now doesn't mean I'm a trainer again." Ash said as he picked up the Pokeball and rolled it in his hands.

Gary sighed but nodded his head. "I understand. Anyways, I have the aids fixing up the sanctuary and returning the Pokemon back into it. Everything will be the same soon." Gary explained quickly as he petted his Arcanine on its head gently, the Legendary Pokemon yipping in appreciation from the floor where it laid.

Ash nodded his head as he looked at Gary again. "That was a good idea though Gary, getting the other Pokemon out of there while we handled the Dragonite. I don't know what we would've done if one of them were injured in the crossfire." Ash admitted, reaching up to his ear and pulling out the ear piece, his voice changing back to his normal male voice.

Gary nodded his head in agreement before standing up. "Well, I need to get back to work and contact Officer Jenny so she'll know that we got the Dragonite under control. I'll see you later alright." Gary said as he walked out of the room, his Arcanine trailing behind him so it could return to the sanctuary.

Ash sighed as he looked back down at the new addition to his small family, wondering why the Dragonite had reacted like it had. "Well, I'll find out sooner or later." He said to himself as he set the Pokeball on the side table and laid down, looking at it from where he was. It was only a few moments later that he finally fell asleep, dreaming of flying with his new Dragonite.

Pokemon!

When everything had been fixed and the Pokemon all settled back into the sanctuary before Ash even came close to releasing the Dragonite. He wanted to make sure the Dragon type wouldn't harm itself before he tried to make it feel better and find the cause for its terrible attitude.

So it was a few days later when he could actually move that he decided to bring out the Dragonite. He made sure to have his Bulbasaur and Bayleef just in case he needed them to calm it down. Once he was sure that everything was set and ready did he call out the Dragonite and when it appeared in front of him, he was surprised to see it glaring at him in anger.

Ash cringed slightly before shaking his head and staring back at it coolly, showing no fear once again and just waiting. Bulbasaur and Bayleef were both prepared to attack if the Dragonite decided it needed to go on the offensive and attack Ash, though the trainer doubted it when he saw the hesitation in the Dragon's eyes. "You already know what you're going to do right?" Ash asked calmly though his tone held strength and commanding in it. The Dragonite shook its head gently to show it didn't know what it was going to do. Ash smiled.

"You are going to sit down and let me look you over for an injury, that's what you're going to do." Ash told it with the tone he had heard his mother use several times on himself when he was supposed to go and clean his room or go take a bath. It had always worked on him but he was unsure of whether it would work on the Pokemon. To his surprise the Dragonite instantly sat down and looked like a thoroughly scolded child. Ash smiled and patted him on the head gently as he praised him. "That's good Dragonite, thank you." He said as he began to move, informing the creature of what he was doing the entire time.

"I'm going to check you for injuries, which include your wings and tail." Ash explained as he did just that, moving the wings gently and running his hands over them to see if there would be any reaction. There was none that he could see and from what he could tell the Dragonite was in perfect health. Ash came to stand in front of the Dragonite with his hands on his hips and stared at it. "Can you show me if you feel sore or hurt somewhere or if you don't feel good?" Ash asked with a stern tone.

Dragonite seemed hesitant at first, but it soon held one of its large claws out for Ash to inspect a little more thoroughly than he had bothered to before. It was only when Ash had touched the middle of the clawed appendage that the Dragonite reacts in anyway.

It roared in pain and ripped its claw away, curling its tail around its body and holding the claw tenderly and looking at Ash as if he had done it a great wrong. Ash sighed as he walked towards it slowly this time, holding his hands in the air to show it that he meant no harm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, I just wanted to see what was wrong so I could fix it." Ash said as he reached for the claw again. "Can I see it again; I promise I'll be really gentle this time." Ash said as he waited.

The Dragonite sniffed several times and looked at him with watery eyes before turning back towards Ash and holding its claw out again. This time Ash very carefully and gently to the claw and looked up at the Dragonite. "I'm going to touch it some and I want you to tell me where it hurts the most, alright?" Ash said as he began to gently touch the claw again.

It was about the middle of the claw again when the Dragonite cried in pain again and Ash quickly stopped what he was doing and looked at the part that he had touched. The spot seemed normal, but Ash could see what seemed to be a bump there and his heart sank as he realized what it could be. "I'll be right back Dragonite; I'm going to get you some help so we can fix this up, alright." Ash said as he looked towards his Bulbasaur and Bayleef. "I want you two to use sleep powder and put him to sleep for right now." Ash said and left just as Bulbasaur and Bayleef did just that, the Dragonite standing no chance against two sleep powders, fell asleep quickly, cradling its injured claw.

Ash quickly moved down the hallway, already knowing where he was wanting to go and getting there as fast as his feet could get him. His mind running as he remembered the bump that signaled that there was a fractured bone in the claw, causing massive pain whenever it tried to use it. 'No wonder it was going on a rampage, it was in a lot of pain.' Ash thought as he finally burst through the door to the infirmary where one of the Pokemon nurses were waiting for any injured Pokemon to come in.

"Cinth, I need some help, one of my Pokemon have a fractures paw!" Ash called to the nurse and the woman with long red hair and a lab coat stared at him through her black glasses.

"Ashley, I see that you're up and running again, how nice." Cinthia drawled as she grabbed several items and healing salve. "Now, why don't you take me to this injured Pokemon and explain to me how another one had gotten injured in your care." The Red head said scathingly, walking out of the room with a flourish.

Ash felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation at the woman, especially since she seemed to hate him more that he did her. When Ash had first started working at the lab, he had quickly taken on the role of a female assistant, not wanting anyone to know who he really was, and took on a female name in public. But when Ash first got to meet Cinthia Rockwell, the woman had been nice enough, until she found out that he would be training the Pokemon to become stronger and better. Which meant more injuries for the Pokemon and more work for Cinthia, who was actually quite lazy and hated to work, not to mention she had a huge crush on Gary as well that didn't help anything!

"I didn't actually do anything." Ash began as he walked alongside of the older woman. "It was that Dragonite that was brought in earlier. I think it's paw was fractured, but since I'm not the professional here, I thought I'd get you just in case." Ash finished as he opened the door to the Sanctuary.

Cinthia nodded her head and walked into the room, instantly spotting the giant dragon lying on the ground, passed out with a Bulbasaur and Bayleef watching it closely. "I'm guessing this is it then." Cinthia stated as she looked at the giant dragon with a critical eye, spotting the injured paw quickly and carefully pulling it out to look at it. "There's a machine in the infirmary that looks like a giant tube, go and fetch it for me so I can take an X-ray." She asked as she looked at Ash.

The disguised male nodded his head and ran from the room, quickly returning to the room and grabbing the machine and returning with it only moments later. Cinthia nodded her head at him before pressing some buttons and the machine lowered about halfway. "I'm going to wake it up now, I want you to keep it as calm as possible." Cinthia said as she pulled out a small bag of powder that she threw over the Dragonite.

The dragon woke up drowsily and began to look around, first spotting Cinthia and her machine. It instantly panicked and shot up like lightning and flew backwards away from the red headed woman. Ash acted instantly as he ran towards it and began to motion for it to calm down with his hands. "It's alright Dragonite. She's just going to take a look at your paw, alright?" Ash asked as the Dragon type looked at him warily before nodding its head.

Ash gently led the creature back over to the nurse and Cinthia indicated for Dragonite to set its paw onto the pillowed table that was inside of the tube. "Now don't move at all or I won't get a clear picture, alright?" Cinthia said as she started up the machine.

It took Ash staying and patting the creature for it to not move and even then Cinthia and to repeat the procedure several times before she was sure she had a good enough picture to see what was wrong. "Alright, I'll go and get these developed, until then keep it calm and from using its paw. I don't want to do any extra work after all." She said as she walked out of the room with the X-ray behind her, being pushed by Bayleef.

"I could've returned it." Ash muttered as he sat next to Dragonite. "She didn't have to make my Bayleef do it for her." He shook his head as he looked back up at the Dragon type. "How are you feeling? Not too bad I hope." The Dragonite whined slightly as it continued to cradle gently.

Ash smiled at it and patted it on the stomach that he could touch at his height at the moment. "Don't worry, we'll fix up that paw in no time and you'll feel a whole lot better." Ash reassured and laid back into the grass, relaxing, which relaxed the Dragonite as well.

It took about twenty minutes before Cinthia returned with a clipboard and a black sheet that had the X-ray results on them. "I have the results and it doesn't seem good." Cinthia announced as she handed the X-ray to Ash, who put it up to the light to look at it. He gasped as he looked at was once a normal paw but was now nothing but meat on the inside.

"What could do something like this?" Ash asked as he looked at the shattered bones and destroyed paw altogether. Nothing in the paw was left intact and he knew that there was no fixing the paw, it was too badly damaged to be repaired, even if an expert looked at it, there was just no way.

Cinthia sighed as she tapped the clipboard, but looked at Ash either way. "To tell the truth, the only thing able to do such a thing is a Pokemon with psychic abilities and a really strong one at that." Cinthia explained as she walked over to the Dragonite and patted it on its bowed head. "That is the only way that this Pokemon's paw can be so mangled on the inside while the outside is untouched." She confirmed as she pulled out a large needle that she turned onto the Dragonite. "This will dull the pain, alright, you won't even realize your hurt once I've injected it, alright?"

The Dragonite looked at her warily and then looked at Ash, who was nodding his head at it with a smile and the Dragonite allowed Cinthia to stick him with the needle. It was only a minute later that he felt drowsy and fell onto his side, dead asleep. Ash smiled at the Dragonite before looking at Cinthia with a serious look. "So what are we going to do? That paw can't be repaired; it would just stay mangled and painful if we just left it, right?" Ash asked as he flipped his braid back behind him.

Cinthia nodded her head as she wrote on the clipboard and then pulled out a phone from her pocket and dialed a number. While the phone rang, she looked at Ash and began to give him an overview of what she wanted to do. "Because the paw is beyond repair, I believe that it would be best if I just remove it entirely." She said just as the other end picked up. "Yes, hello. My name is Cinthia Gold and I'm the nurse at Viridian Gym. I have a Dragonite with a mangled paw and I need help amputating the paw to cause as much of a pain free life as possible. Yes, if you can send a nurse Joy over, that would be best. Yes thank you." She hung the phone up and looked back at Ash.

"So you'll have to remove the paw entirely?" Ash asked for confirmation on his fears. Once he got the nodded reply and sighed. "Alright, when are you going to do it then?"

"Today as soon as Nurse Joy gets here, so if you can help me get him to the infirmary." She said as she turned to look at the sleeping Dragonite.

Ash felt his eyebrow ticked as he looked at the huge Pokemon. "Maybe you should've left it awake so it could've walked there itself." He drawled.

Cinthia sighed and let her head fall forward. "I probably should've and now I have even more work to do!" She lifted her head so Ash could see the tears falling down her face anime style.

"Joy."

Pokemon!

_"What do you mean you're going to stay dressed like this?" Delia Ketchum asked as she looked at her son. "I don't understand why you don't want everyone to know your back!? They were all worried about you for the longest time." She said to her son while her hands were raised in front of her._

_ Ash sighed as he brought his hat to cover his eyes some more and held Bulbasaur close to his chest, ignoring the look from Gary and Professor Oak. "I just can't handle all of the questions right now; it took a lot for me to even go to Gary in the first place." Ash admitted as he looked towards the window where he could see all of his Pokemon, even his Gabit, sitting around and waiting for him. "I think I'd probably run again if I was cornered." _

_ Delia frowned before sighing and smiling at her son, understanding him and his reasons. "I see, well, we should probably come up with a name for you then." She announced as she clapped her hands together and smiled at the three males. _

_ All three blinked at her in surprise before smiling. "I forgot how understanding you could be." Ash said as he walked over to his mother and sat down next to her, leaning against her shoulder. Delia smiled and wrapped an arm around her son comfortingly._

_ Gary smirked though and nodded his head. "She's right though, we need to come up with a name for you if you're going to stay hidden." He crossed his arms and leaned against a wall as he looked at the startled Ash. "After all, a beautiful girl needs a beautiful name, not some ugly male name." _

_ Ash blushed at the complement slash insult, unsure if he should feel happy about being called beautiful or insulted about the ugly comment. He chose to ignore both and looked at his mother instead. "So, what did you want to call a girl if you had one?" He asked and waited._

_ Delia put a finger to her chin in thought before smiling happily and turned towards the three males. "Well, your father wanted a boy called Ash, but if we ever ended up with a girl, I decided that the name Ashley would fit perfectly." She announced, clapping her hands._

_ Ash laughed at that as he realized that he was going to end up with Ash as his name no matter what gender he was. "I see, that'll do well then." He decided and nodded his head, Bulbasaur exclaiming out happily as well. "I'm not the only one who likes it." Ash said as he looked down at the Seed Pokemon with a smile._

_ Professor Oak laughed along as well before calming down and throwing his own opinion in as well. "I think for a last name it should be Catchling." He said as he offered up the name and Ash thought about it for several seconds before nodding._

_ "So Ashley Catchling will be working for Gary Oak from now on, sounds good to me." Ash decided as he stood up, his grip tightening on Bulbasaur as he did. "So call me Ashley when we're in company alright, but Ash when in private." He said and smiled at them._

_ The group nodded along with him and soon Ash disappeared back out the window to continue talking with his Pokemon. "Use the freaking door Ash!" Gary called out to the other male, but only got laughter in return._

_Pokemon!_

A week passed by since Dragonite was put under the knife and it was doing a whole lot better now. Though when it had first woken up and realized that where its paw had once been was now a stump, it had gone on a rampage again.

Ash was able to calm it down after about an hour and explained to it calmly why it no longer had the damaged paw. The Dragonite had grouched a few days after that, but soon had forgiven Ash for his actions. The male was happy about that since he had soon begun to train the Dragonite to compensate for the loss of one of its attacks. The Dragonite now used its left paw to use its fire, ice, thunder, and dynamite punches. It was improving daily under Ash's careful training.

Also with the Dragonite now calmed and settling into the Sanctuary, he was able to train the other Pokemon again and each day that they trained, the stronger they got. Even the wild Pokemon that would later be released into the wild had gotten stronger under his care. He was sure that whoever even attempted to catch them would fail unless they were highly experience.

Gary had come and watched Ash's training program several times and praised it when he saw his Pokemon overcome weaknesses that most wouldn't be able to. He even praised Ash several times, watching as that light that had been extinguished began to flicker back to life. Ash's training program weren't just helping his Pokemon to get better; Gary knew that it was also helping Ash to recover from the terrible tragedy that had crushed him in Sinnoh.

It was only too bad that a day came that a trainer entered the Gym, a trainer that Gary had only seen in passing in Sinnoh. This trainer came to his gym and asked him to battle.

"This battle will be between Gym Leader Gary Oak and Paul Allen of Veilstone City! This is a full six on six battles; only the trainer will be allowed to substitute. Trainers! Choose your first Pokemon!" The ref called out as he raised two flags into the air, one purple and the other blue.

Gary smirked at Paul and picked a Pokeball from his belt, prepared to throw it. "I hope you're ready to lose Paul, because you're not leaving this gym with my badge." Gary stated as he prepared to throw the ball, only to be stopped.

"Gary!" The unmistakable voice was female and he knew who it belonged to. "There's an emergency, the aids need your help with the machine and Eevee!"

"Ashley! What's wrong with the machine?" Gary asked as he turned to his friend, worry on his face.

She instantly told him what was going on and once he realized what was happening, he looked towards Paul with a regretful look. "I'm so sorry, but I have to go and take care of this, it's very vital information that could be lost."

Paul frowned at Gary, but nodded his head in understanding. "I understand, go and I'll come back another time."

Neither trainers realized that the girl next to Gary had frozen at the sound of Paul's voice and so neither expected it when she spoke up with a cold tone. "You don't have to go, you can battle me instead." She announced as she turned towards Paul.

Paul glanced the girl over, only noticing that she had one Pokemon on her belt, he scoffed in irritation. "I don't want to waste my time on a beginner, I'll come back when Oak is able to battle." He said as he turned to leave.

"You're an idiot if you leave now!" Ashley called out with a snarl, Paul stopped dead in his tracks. "I'm not a beginner; I'm a veteran of eleven years. I've defeated Gary in battle before, so don't call me a beginner." Ashley said as Paul turned around, knowing she had caught the other. "So that means if you can beat me, you'll be able to beat Gary!"

"Alright, I'll battle her." He announced as he walked back to his spot on the battle field.

Gary looked Ashley in worry as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure about this Ashley, I mean, you said you wouldn't battle in a real battle ever again. What changed your mind?" He asked as he looked towards the other male in curiosity since Paul had caused this drastic change in his friend.

Ashley sneered towards Paul again before turning towards Gary with a soft smile, hand reaching up towards her golden Pokeball pendent. "He's the one who started this; I'm just going to knock him back down to where he belongs." She stated as she began to pull Gary out of the Gym. "The aids need you more than I do, you need to help them. Let me worry about the gym challenge." She said to Gary and stopped to look at Paul. "I'll be right back with my Pokemon, just wait here." She said and disappeared, pulling Gary behind her towards where his team needed him at the moment.

About ten minutes later Ashley reappeared back in the gym, running over towards her spot on the field holding a small green Pokemon and only five Pokeballs on her belt.

Paul blinked as he recognized the Seed Pokemon as Bulbasaur, which seemed exceedingly happy in its trainer's arms. "Finally got your team together then?" Paul asked as he waited for the battle to start.

Ashley nodded her head stoically as she turned to look at the Ref. "Will you call it for us George?" She asked with a smile on her face.

The man smiled at her and nodded his head. "This battle will be between Pokemon Trainer Ashley Catchling of Viridian City and Paul Allen of Veilstone City. This is a full on six battle and only the challenger will be able to substitute. Trainers, choose your Pokemon!"

Ashley shifted nervously as she reached down to her belt and retrieved a ball, wondering if she could really do this. "What's wrong with you?!" She looked up startled at Paul who was fuming as he waited for her to choose her first Pokemon so he could choose his. "You're supposed to be a veteran trainer! Why aren't you acting like it?" It was apparent that the lilac haired trainer was annoyed.

Ashley frowned as she looked at Paul and shook her head. "That's the thing though," She started and shifted again, her Bulbasaur looking up at her with worry, "I haven't actually battled in six years."

Pokemon!

A.N. Haha! I got him back into battling, but will this turn out alright? I wonder, we'll find out soon enough. Please review.

I would like everyone to think about some of the authors on Fanfiction that died recently or a while ago. Some of them died in tragic accidents while others have died from illness and either have left unfinished stories or have had others finish them for them in memory. I would like everyone reading this to lower their heads, clasp their hands together and pray for those who have been lost recently. Allow there to be a moment of silence for wherever you, the reader, are and remember not just the writers here on this site, but those who have been lost in your life or in tragic events recently.

Please remember that life is short and that you should love those in your life while you can and show you appreciation for whatever comes into your life.

Again, thanks to those who have lost their lives for spreading inspiration through their


	4. Battling Against Paul

Chapter Four

Battling Against Paul

Paul stared at the girl across from him, wondering if she was completely insane. "You haven't battled in six years?!" He questioned as he looked at her with wide eyes. "Why the heck are you battling then if you haven't done it in six years!? You're just setting yourself up for failure!" He exclaimed as he looked towards the small Bulbasaur in her arms. "Not to mention you'll get your Pokemon hurt if not killed."

Ashley's eyes hardened as she looked at him, clutching at Bulbasaur to comfort her as she threw her first Pokeball out into battle after six years. "I have my reasons! Now choose your first Pokemon or forfeit!" She yelled out in anger as Arcanine appeared gracefully out into the arena.

Paul blinked at the Pokemon and pulled out his Pokedex for information on the Pokemon. _'Arcanine, the Legendary Pokemon and evolved form of Growlithe. Its proud and regal appearance has captured the hearts of people since long ago.'_ Paul nodded his head as he pulled out a Pokeball of his own and tossed it.

"Gastrodon stand by for battle." And with that the Sea Slug Pokemon appeared, holding its blue head up high in confidence.

"Good choice, a water type Pokemon, not to mention a ground type as well." Ashley announced as she looked over the obviously powerful water type. "It seems to be trained really well."

"Thanks, I worked hard to evolve my Shellos when I had first caught it." Paul admitted as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "But I know that it's time for a battle, not idle chitchat." Paul announced as he yelled out to his Gastrodon. "Water pulse." With that Gastrodon released a huge sphere of water at the fire type.

"Do just as we practice Arcanine and you'll be fine." Ashley called out and Arcanine nodded, not moving an inch as the water pulse hit head on.

Paul blinked in confusion for a second before smiling at the girl in front of him. "That was a stupid move; your Pokemon will be badly damaged if not knocked out already." He stated confidently, only to frown as he heard the girl laugh at him.

"Don't be so confident!" She called out as the dust cleared up from Paul's attack to show a perfectly fine Arcanine. It wasn't even damp from the attack.

"What, how is that possible?" Paul asked as he looked at the Arcanine in a type of fear. He didn't understand, his Gastrodon's power was almost unmatched and to have a fire type survive that water pulse was just confounding.

Ashley smiled as she snapped her fingers and Arcanine began to glow in red energy. At first Paul thought it was Blaze, but knew it wasn't since the Pokemon wasn't obviously hurt enough to use it. "What you see in front of you now is a move that I worked with Arcanine on for months! This is called Blaze Veil." Ashley announced as the shroud around Arcanine faded. "You see, I was tired of type advantages and decided that if I was going to make Pokemon stronger that I needed a way to defend against those, so I came up with a move that could do that. With this Arcanine is protected from water attacks by evaporating the water with intense heat before it can really touch it."

Paul stared in awe at the veil before scowling at it. 'So my water type attacks are useless against it now, is that right? Well, I have other moves that can work on it either way.' "Gastrodon! Use body slam and pin it to the ground!" Paul called as he sent his water type into the fray.

"Dodge it Arcanine and use flame blast." Ashley commanded and the Legendary quickly did as told and dodged the attack, jumping up into the air and aiming the fire blast right at Gastrodon and the water slash ground type was consumed within the fire, but wasn't affected.

"What are you an idiot? Fire type moves don't work on water types." Paul stated as he looked at his calm Pokemon.

Ashley smiled at him and nodded her head. "I know that, but do you really know what I was aiming at?" She asked innocently and Paul looked at his Pokemon again, only to gasp as he realized that the field underneath his Pokemon was heated so much that it had turned into Magma. "Now Arcanine, use dig!"

The legendary disappeared underneath ground and Paul was now sweating a little bit as his Gastrodon flailed in the heat of the magma. "Use a flame thrower underneath Gastrodon now!" Ashley called as Arcanine fire the already burning ground up at the water slash ground type, sending it flying into the air and back to the ground. It didn't get back up.

"Gastrodon is unable to battle, Arcanine is the winner!"

Paul sighed as he recalled his Pokemon and returned it to his belt and quickly called out a different one. "Carracosta stand by for battle."

Ashley blinked at this one and turned her head to the side in confusion, unsure of what type of Pokemon that was and so pulled out her own beat up Pokedex. It was fuzzy and showed no data on the Pokemon in front of her. "Um, I hate to ask this since it'll make me seem stupid, but what Pokemon is that?" She asked as she looked up at the giant turtle like creature.

Paul rolled his eyes as he pulled out his Pokedex and brought up the information on his Pokemon so he could read it to the other trainer. _'Carracosta the prototurtle and evolved form of Tirtouga. Incredible jaw strength enables them to chew up steel beams and rocks along with their prey.' _

"It's a water type that I caught as a Tirtouga in the Unova region before I came back to Kanto." Paul explained as his giant turtle prepared to battle.

Ash nodded his head at this before shaking his head and returning his mind back to the battle instead of a new region. "I see, alright then, Arcanine, Ariel Ace!" Arcanine ran quickly and then jumped into the air, a fierce glow surrounded it and signaled the use.

Paul simply stayed calm as he watched the Arcanine. "Carracosta, turn your back on it and allow it to hit your shell and then then grab it and use Crunch." The blue Pokemon did as told and turned around, allowing the Arcanine to slam into its shell before turning and grabbing the downed legendary by its leg and crunching down on it.

"Arcanine! Use Flamethrower at its feet!" Ashley called out, only for the Pokemon to ignore her and yowl in pain instead. "Arcanine!" Ashley yelled as the fire type was finally released from the crunch.

"Now use aqua tail!" Paul called and Carracosta quickly covered its tail in water, threw Arcanine away from itself and swung its tail at the fire type. Ashley waited to see if the legendary would get up but she knew that after those powerful attacks that the damage would be too much on it.

It surprised her then that the Legendary stood up on shaky legs, glaring at the water type and soon being engulfed in a veil of fire. Ashley smiled as she realized what it was that was happening. "Blaze has been activated." She stated as she looked at Paul with a smirk. "Your turtle may be strong, but how will it be able to stand up to this now?" She asked as she ordered Arcanine to dig once again.

Paul waited for the attack to come, only to be surprised when the battle field turned hot again and began to burn his Pokemon's feet slightly. "The heat from blaze is coming up from underground." Paul stated as he looked around, wondering where the fire type would appear, only to gasp as Carracosta was thrown into the air by Arcanine.

The Prototurtle grunted as it landed onto the ground, but stood back up as Arcanine face it again. "Alright, we need to finish this. Use Surf!" Paul called and watched as the water type summoned a huge amount of water and began to surf on it towards Arcanine.

Before Ashley could command Arcanine to do anything else the fire type was swept up by the Surf and slammed into the ground. "Arcanine!" Ashley called out and watched as the water disappeared.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, Carracosta is the winner!"

Ashley sighed as she recalled the Arcanine and smiled at the Pokeball. "Thanks for the hard work, you deserve a hard rest." She said and looked down at the little Bulbasaur in her arms and smiled at it. "Ready to battle?" She asked it and it just smiled back and jumped down from her arms.

"A Bulbasaur?" Paul asked as he looked at the little plant type. "Don't you think that's a little weak?" He asked as he looked at the other trainer, only to see anger and hate burning in her eyes.

"Are you calling my Pokemon weak?" She growled out as her fist clenched, the ref shivered at the tone as he remembered several instances where people died after hearing that tone. Well not died, but they were in the infirmary for a while afterwards.

Paul thought about that for a moment before nodding his head. "With a weak trainer, the Pokemon are bound to be weak." He sneered at her finally, knowing that he could win this with his Carracosta now that she had chosen such a weak Pokemon.

The ref was making hand motions at Paul to shut up and just battle, but the lilac haired boy ignored him and instead continued to taunt him. "With such a weak Pokemon, I'm sure that this battle will be mine in no time. After all, you haven't even battled in six years, what good are you?"

Ashley was now incredibly pissed off and had enough of this brat's attitude. "Enough, I'll show you just what my Pokemon can do!" She declared as her hatred grew for this trainer. "Bulbasaur, quick attack!" She called out, startling Paul.

"What, there's no way a Bulbasaur could know quick attack!" Paul exclaimed, but watched as the little Seed Pokemon disappeared in its speed, confusing not only Paul, but the Carracosta as well. "How is this possible?" Paul asked as Carracosta finally was knocked over as the attack connected.

Ashley smirked at him as her Bulbasaur reappeared in front of her, grinning as well. "Beyond popular belief, quick attack can be learned by any Pokemon really, but most heavy weight or slow moving Pokemon normally don't learn it because of their body structure. Quick Attack is a normal type move. If you actually take the time to teach a Pokemon something then it can normally learn it, as long as the possibility is there." She explained as she looked at the Carracosta.

Paul glared at the girl and wondered where she had been the last six years. She was obviously a powerful trainer, even if she hadn't battled for over six years, so now why had she disappeared in the first place. "So since my Carracosta is both a water type and a ground type, could it learn Stealth Rock?" Paul questioned as his mind whirled.

Ashley was silent for a moment before nodding. "It could, as long as it has the affinity for it. But if you wanted it learn, say razor leaf, it would be unable to learn that. A Pokemon can only learn a move as long as it's in its affinity class. Most Pokemon can learn normal type attacks because those are the easiest, but if you try and teach a fire type a water type move, it won't work." Ashley explained.

Paul nodded his head in understanding and then looked back at the field towards where his Pokemon was finally standing back up and was ready to battle. "Alright then, Carracosta, use Aqua Jet and get in close to Bulbasaur and then use crunch." He quickly commanded the water slash ground type.

Ashley frowned before smirking at Paul. "Razor Leaf to intercept and then use seed bomb." Ashley commanded and Bulbasaur reacted quickly and released the leaves in a whirlwind, smashing into the Prototurtle's Aqua Jet and stopping it. As soon as it landed on the ground the seed bomb hit full on, exploding in its face and on its body. "Wrap it up with Energy ball!"

Bulbasaur quickly released the powerful energy ball, smashing into Carracosta long before Paul could say anything to his Pokemon. Paul looked into the dust, waiting to see if his Pokemon would stand up again or be down for the count. Ashley was surprised to find that the Carracosta was still standing up after that attack, but smirked as she realized something.

"Bulbasaur, tap the Carracosta on the chest gently with a vine whip." She ordered and the Seed Pokemon did as said, very cautiously and gently tapping it on the middle of its chest. Paul watched as his Pokemon fell onto its back and didn't get back up.

"Carracosta is unable to battle! Bulbasaur wins!"

Paul sighed as he called his Pokemon back, wondering if he had trained it well enough or if that Bulbasaur was as strong as it really seemed. "Your Bulbasaur is obviously well trained, I've never seen one move that fast before." Paul said as he contemplated his next Pokemon.

Ashley nodded his head in thanks as she waited, Bulbasaur preparing for another battle. "I've had this Bulbasaur for a long time, it was one of the first Pokemon I had when I first started my journey when I was a kid." She stated as she smiled fondly at the Seed Pokemon, earning a gentle caress from its vine whip.

Paul blinked at that statement, looking at the girl over again. "How old are you exactly?" He finally asked as he tried to figure that out, unsure if his guess of sixteen or seventeen were correct any longer.

Ashley blinked in surprise at the question and tilted her head to the side. "I'm twenty, almost twenty-one. Why do you ask?"

Paul blanched for a second before regaining his composure. "I thought you were at least Seventeen, not twenty." He stated as he finally picked a Pokeball.

Ashley felt an eyebrow twitch in irritation at that, knowing it would've been younger if she hadn't told him that she was a veteran trainer. "If that's so, how old are you then huh? You can't be any older than fifteen or sixteen!" She exclaimed as she glared at the brat she had once battled long ago.

Paul shrugged at her and threw his Pokeball. "Frosslass standby for battle. I'm sixteen." He said as he released his ice Pokemon.

Ashley glared at him before sighing and taking in the Ice Type that he hadn't seen for quite some time. "Looks like we'll be having a bit of trouble here Bulbasaur." She said as her Bulbasaur prepared for a freezing cold battle. "Let's start with a solar beam."

Bulbasaur quickly charged up the attack, but held it in to look like he was taking a bit longer because of the lighting in the gym.

"Quick, before it fires it, use icy wind." Paul commanded and his Frosslass quickly reacted to the command. The wind was chilling even to Ashley as Bulbasaur shivered at the cold.

"Release it Bulbasaur! Get rid of this wind!" Ashley commanded and the Solar Beam was released, quickly obliterating the wind and freeing the Pokemon from its chilling affects. "Alright, now use Quick attack to get in close." Bulbasaur began to move, but it was obvious that the Icy wind had lowered its speed somewhat, so it was slower than it normally was. "Oh no."

Paul smirked as his plan succeeded in slowing down the Seed type. "Alright Frosslass, use Leer!" The Frosslass growled as its eyes glowed red, the attack hitting Bulbasaur, but the seed type easily ignored the attack and continued. Paul growled as he thought quickly and smirked as a new attack came to mind. "Dodge and use Ice beam!"

Frosslass quickly moved aside and then turned and fired the blue beam from its hands, hitting Bulbasaur and freezing it in place. "Bulbasaur!" Ashley cried out in fear for her Pokemon, knowing that the damage would be huge since grass types were weak against ice types.

Paul smirked as he called out his next move, knowing that this would win this battle. "Ice shard to finish it up!" Frosslass called out as it created the chunks of ice, firing it at the frozen Bulbasaur and getting a direct hit.

Ashley yelled out in distress as she watched her now free Pokemon hit the ground hard and not get back up.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, Frosslass is the winner!"

Ashley quickly ran towards her Bulbasaur and picked up, rubbing her cheek against the top of its head. "That was a good job Bulbasaur, you did really well against that ice type." She congratulated as she walked back towards her spot on the battlefield, keeping hold of her grass type as she picked up next Pokemon.

"Ch, you should've known that that grass type was no match for my ice type. I had the advantage." Paul said as he crossed his arms and looked towards the other, waiting for the next Pokemon.

Ashley growled as she gripped the Pokeball in her hand tightly. "Just because there was a type disadvantage doesn't mean that he would've lost! Bulbasaur has defeated several different ice types since he got here!" She shouted at him, glaring hotly at the younger trainer.

Paul just rolled his eyes as he waited for the next Pokemon. "Just choose your next Pokemon will you, I don't have all day and I'd like to get this badge before the Indigo League starts."

Ashley continued to growl as she finally threw her ball out onto the field, releasing a very familiar Pokemon that Paul startled at. "Buizel!" It shouted as its fist pumped the air in excitement. "Bui-Bui!"

Paul stared at the Buizel, unsure of what to think as he watched it jump up and down in excitement and then calm down, crossing its arms over its small chest and smirking confidently at Frosslass and Paul. "Where did you get that Buizel?" Paul asked suddenly, looking up at Ashley with wide and confused eyes. He was sure that that Buizel was the same one as…

Ashley raised an eyebrow as she placed one hand on her hip, the other holding Bulbasaur. "This gym holds all kinds of Pokemon, not to mention that Gary is the grandson of one Samuel Oak who holds onto Pokemon from several trainers." She said as she looked at the Buizel in front of her, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Thanks to that, Gary is allowed to borrow or care for whatever Pokemon that the Professor has or he'll take another's Pokemon on request."

Paul nodded his head as he continued to look at Buizel, a light in his eyes flickering as if it wanted to go out. "Did your boss accept a request from a trainer called Ash Ketchum?" Paul asked as he looked back up at Ashley.

She stared at him with hard eyes as she squeezed Bulbasaur slightly and Buizel frowned at Paul. "Ash Ketchum called about a year ago and asked Gary to pick up his Pokemon and move them to his gym. No one knows where he is or if he's even still alive." She stated with hard eyes.

Paul nodded his head as he looked at the ground, but his head suddenly snapped up as his Frosslass went flying backwards with a cry of pain. "Pay attention! This is still a battle and you can't afford to look away!" Ashley called in anger as her Buizel glared at the Lilac haired male.

Paul growled in anger as he looked at his Frosslass as it got back up, it glaring at Buizel with vehemence. "Frosslass, Ice shard!" Paul called and watched as the chunks of ice went flying at the Buizel, only for it to dodge.

"Good Buizel, now use Sonic Boom and follow up with aqua jet!" Ashley called. Buizel quickly swung in a circle and let fly two Sonic Booms at Frosslass and then quickly covered himself into water and went flying at the Ice Type.

"Dodge it and use Ice beam!" Paul called, Frosslass quickly dodging the two attacks and then firing the blue beam of ice towards the swiftly moving Buizel.

Ashley smirked at Paul and only then did Paul remember what Buizel could do and all he could do was watch as Buizel began to spin just before the Ice Beam connected. "Ice Aqua Jet!" Paul shouted out in fear as the water around Buizel indeed turned to ice and flew straight at Frosslass at amazing speeds, slamming into the Snow Land Pokemon.

"FROSSSSS!" It screamed as it went flying and slammed into the wall just behind Paul with frightening speed and strength. Paul looked over his shoulder towards his Frosslass, only to see that it was knocked out with the powerful move.

"Frosslass is unable to battle, Buizel is the winner!"

Paul recalled his defeated Pokemon and turned back towards Buizel with hard eyes, knowing that the other Pokemon wouldn't be fazed by the look, but he didn't care, knowing what the Buizel had done to his Pokemon.

"I'm surprise Paul." Ashley said as she brought the attention back on her. "I would've thought you'd do better than this, after all, didn't you place fourth in the Sinnoh League?" She asked with a small smirk on her face. "After all, I haven't battled in six years; I've only been training Pokemon."

Paul's eyes narrowed at that as he looked at her. "What do you mean by that? You've been training Pokemon but haven't battled?"

Ashley smirked again as she nodded towards the Buizel in front of her. "I haven't been in a battle, but that doesn't mean I can't. I've spent the last year here strengthening all the Pokemon that Gary has by training them, caring for them, feeding them, grooming. All things that a Pokemon needs to be powerful." Ashley admitted as she smiled at the Buizel and it gave thumbs up in reply. "So I have a powerful bond with the Pokemon here, even if they don't belong to me."

"Trainer, please select your next Pokemon." The ref George said as he looked at Paul with an impatient look. "We don't have all day after all." He said as he began to tap his foot.

Paul growled but picked his next Pokemon and releasing it onto the field. His fourth Pokemon came out with a roar and a stomp of its feet before it turned its glare onto Buizel. Buizel glared back at the massive Nidoking and an irritated swing of its tail. "Bui-bui-buizel-zel-zel-buizel!" Buizel yelled at the mighty rock slash poison type.

"Graaa!" Nidoking replied and its tail slammed its tail into the ground in anger. Both Pokemon were obviously ready to battle, but Ashley frowned for a second as she took in the Pokemon that Paul had called out.

"You've got to be kidding me." She said as she looked at the Ground type. "Well, whatever." She said as she remembered that Paul was known to take a disadvantage and destroy it. His Pokemon were all powerful enough to survive in a battle, even if it was at a disadvantage. "Buizel, start with a water gun!" Ashley called and watched as Buizel did as told and shot the water gun at its opponent.

"Shield against it." Paul called and Nidoking slammed its tail into the ground again and crossed its arms in front of it, blocking the water from hitting its body that way. "Now use Thunderbolt." Paul called out quickly. The Drill Pokemon used thunderbolt, the power emitting from its horn and heading straight for Buizel.

"Aqua Jet to the side and head for NidoKing!" She commanded. Buizel quickly covered itself in water and took off towards the side, avoiding the attack and then turning midstream and straight towards the NidoKing.

"Grab hold of it when it hits you and use thunderbolt again." Paul commanded. Nidoking stomped its feet and held its ground as Buizel slammed into it, sending it sliding slightly backwards. Before Buizel could jump away from it though Nidoking grabbed hold of Buizel by wrapping its arms tightly around it and then emitted the lightning again.

"BUIIIII!" Buizel yelled as it squirmed in its hold from the pain of the electricity.

"Buizel!" Ashley yelled out as her Pokemon cried in pain in front of her. Once the attack ended Nidoking still had a hold of the water type that was now flinching in pain and sparking in electricity. "Buizel, you have to use water gun again to get away!" Ashley cried out, but her water type didn't respond to her command as it was paralyzed from the electricity.

"One more Thunderbolt Nidoking." Paul commanded and all Ashley could do was watch as her Buizel was shocked with electricity once again, this time fainting when it had ended.

"Buizel is unable to battle! Nidoking is the winner!"

Ashley growled in anger as she recalled her Buizel too her, glaring at Paul in her anger. "Don't think this is over just yet." She said as she pulled out her next Pokemon, her fourth one. "Alright then, Dragonite time to fight!" She called out as the Dragon appeared with a fierce roar!

Paul stared at the dragon with slight trepidation, especially since his Nidoking was tired, but he refused to call his Pokemon back. He knew he could take this Dragonite, especially since it wasn't actually the first one he had encountered before. He blinked in surprise though when he noticed something off about this one. "What happened to its paw?"

Ashley bowed her head slightly when this question came up, knowing he would eventually ask when he finally noticed. "This Dragonite was brought in after it had gone on a rampage in the city and we were charged with finding out what was wrong, but in the end we were forced to catch it to be able to help." Ashley said as she looked at her Bulbasaur with sad eyes. "When we were able to look it over, we found out that its entire paw had been crushed by, what we guess, a psychic type. To be able to help it, we had to remove its entire paw." She said and at this part she looked up with fire in her eyes. "But that doesn't make it weak!"

Paul nodded his head as he looked at his Nidoking, hoping that it could at least weaken the dragon type. "Nidoking, Earth Power." NidoKing nodded and slammed its glowing fist into the ground, a crack in the ground heading straight for Dragonite.

"Fly Dragonite and get off of the ground." Ashley said as she commanded her Pokemon, watching as its wings expanded and it took to the air, dodging the earth power. Paul looked up at the Dragonite, knowing that he would definitely have a problem with this one, especially since his last two would have almost no effect on this one either. "Dragonite, use your hyperbeam." Ashley said with a cold expression on her face.

Paul caught the look and couldn't help but wonder why she would look at him like that, it wasn't like he knew her or anything. He shrugged it off at the moment to instead concentrate on the battle. "Dragonite, use Ice Punch." Paul's eyes widened as he watched the Dragonite swoop down and hit his Nidoking with a powerful icy punch that froze his Pokemon where it was. "Now use Dynamic Punch and finish it." Ashley commanded and the Dragonite instantly did it, hitting the Nidoking dead on. Paul watched as the ice was shattered and his Nidoking lay on the ground, unmoving.

"Nidoking is unable to battle, Dragonite is the winner!"  
Paul growled as he recalled his Pokemon, wondering which one he should use next. He only had two left and neither one would normally be ideal to battle the Dragonite at all. "You going to pick your Pokemon or what?" She asked as she tapped her foot, waiting for him impatiently.

Paul nodded his head as he pulled out his next Pokeball and tossing it out. "Electivire standby for battle." He said as the electric type appeared, its tales whipping around it slightly as it raised its arms into the air and roared, ready for battle.

Ashley smiled at the familiar Pokemon, knowing that it was one of Paul's strongest, but also that it was Paul's biggest weakness. "Dragonite, Brick Break." Ashley commanded and the Dragonite dived from the air and towards Electivire, its paw glowing white as it slammed it towards Electivire.

"Block with your own Brick Break." Paul commanded and Electivire activated its own, blocking Dragonite's attack, but with a wince of pain as it turn out that the electric Pokemon's attack was weaker than the Dragonite. So with that it was thrown back but able to land on its feet. "Use Giga Impact!"

Electivire quickly moved as it was surrounded in a purple sphere with yellow swirls, heading straight at Dragonite who had landed earlier. Ashley frowned as she looked at the Impact, knowing that Electivire would be unable to move after using it. "Go up into the air and wait for the attack to end and then use Dragon Rage." She commanded as she watched Paul's Electivire stopped as soon as her Dragonite was in the air.

Once he Dragonite was high enough, it swept down and towards Electivire surrounded in blue energy that looked like a large dragon heading for the electric type. Electivire was unable to dodge since its use of the Giga Impact and so was hit head on. Dragonite leapt away after it hit and waited with its trainer to see if the Pokemon was still up.

Ashley growled when she saw that it was still up, if just barely, and it was glaring fiercely at them. "Use flamethrower!" Ashley commanded and Dragonite quickly shot the flame towards the weakened Electivire.

"Protect!" Paul called and smiled when he saw the green shield go up just in time. "Now use Thunder punch!" Electivire moved swiftly, ignoring the pain in its body, slamming a shocking fist into the Dragon's stomach.

Dragonite yowled in pain but soon turned back and glared at the Electivire. "Use Dragon Tail!" The Dragon quickly swung around and its tail hit Electivire in the stomach. Electivire was soon surrounded in red energy and disappeared back towards Paul and another appeared out in the field.

Torterra appeared with a roar and slammed on of its feet on the ground while Paul looked confused at the switch. "What just happened?" Paul asked as he looked towards the Dragonite and Ashley.

"That was Dragon Tail." Ashley said as her Dragonite smirked at the grass type. "If it connects with one of your Pokemon, it'll send it back to you and pull out any remaining Pokemon that you have on you." She explained with a smirk. "Dragonite, use flame thrower." Dragonite complied and sent a flame towards the grass type, hitting it directly and consuming it in flames. "Now use Ice Punch." She commanded and Dragonite swept towards the grass type with a blue glowing fist.

"Torterra use solar beam!" Paul called and Torterra quickly began to gather energy, but it still took the hit from Dragonite. It ignored it the best it could as the biting cold made it shudder but it kept at gathering energy.

"Go in with a fire punch!" Ashley yelled and watched as her Dragonite flew straight at the grass type.

"Fire it!" Paul yelled and the Continent Pokemon quickly released the Solar Beam right into Dragonite's face.

"Dragonite!" Ashley yelled in worry, but sighed in relief only moments later when Dragonite flew into the air with only a slight injury. "You alright?" She asked and got a nod in return. "Good, not use Dragon Breath and then go in with another Ice punch!" She commanded.

Dragonite lit off the Dragon breath, nailing Torterra on the back and then quickly flew in and smashed it with a freezing punch. Torterra screamed in pain, but it didn't go down. "That's one tough Torterra." Ashley said as Dragonite landed on the ground again.

Paul grunted at the compliment before turning to his Torterra again. "Use stone edge and then wait for it to come to you." He ordered. Torterra nodded and slammed its feet into the ground, causing large spikes to hit Dragonite before it could dodge.

"You okay Dragonite?" Ashley asked as her Dragonite flew up into the air. Once she got the affirmative from her Dragon she turned back towards Paul. "Bad move, now use fire punch and finish it off!" She called and Dragonite flew towards Torterra again, fist on fire.

Paul waited several moments before he yelled a command out to his Torterra. "Use crunch on its fist!" He yelled and the Torterra did as told, grabbing a hold of the fist and ignoring the burning heat from it. "Now use hyperbeam!"

"Get out of there Dragonite!" Ashley yelled, worry for her Pokemon over riding her senses. Dragonite struggled fiercely to get away but was too late as the power of the Hyperbeam slammed into it, sending it flying away and into a wall. "Dragonite!" Ashley yelled out as she turned towards it and ran over to the downed Pokemon.

"Dragonite is unable to battle, Torterra wins."

Ashley called her Pokemon back and turned back towards Paul with a snarl on her face as she walked back over. "I have one Pokemon left and it'll be the end of you." Ashley announced as she grabbed the Pokemon's ball.

Paul rolled his eyes as he waited for the Pokemon to appear. "Be ready Torterra, we have no idea what she's sending out to fight us." He said and waited for the last Pokemon to appear.

Ashley smirked as she looked at her last Pokeball, knowing that it would be this Pokemon that would stop Paul here and now. "Alright, come out and battle!" She yelled and released her Pokemon.

Paul's eyes widened at the Pokemon in surprise, unsure of what to think as it stood in front of him and his Torterra confidently. "You have got to be kidding me." He said with a smirk.

Pokemon!

A.N. Haha, cliffy that'll make you think about what Pokemon I chose for Ash's finisher. Can you guess who it is and how powerful it is? Well, review please and I'll have the next one up soon enough.


	5. Clash of the Past

Chapter Five

Clash of the Past

Paul smirked at the little Pokemon in front of him, wondering why Ashley would even send out such a small and weak looking thing. "You've got to be kidding me? You can't be seriously thinking that this can defeat me and my two fully evolved Pokemon." Paul said as he looked at Ashley disbelievingly.

Ashley growled at the lilac haired boy, knowing that he was underestimating his strongest Pokemon, even if it wasn't fully evolved. "You better watch you say before you judge, especially if you anger him." Ashley said, but she already knew that her Pokemon was already angry.

Paul just shrugged as he pulled out his Pokedex to check this Pokemon out, mostly because he knew what it was but not much else. _'Riolu the Emanation Pokemon. It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of waves.'_ Paul looked back up at the little blue and black Pokemon, startled to see it glaring at him with intense crimson eyes.

He scoffed at the attempt of intimidation, not letting on that it had worked slightly. "So this is the pre-evolved form of Lucario. Looks just as weak as the Lucario at the Veilstone City Gym." Paul announced and his Torterra gave out a rough laugh as well.

Ashley felt a tick appear from her eyebrow, knowing that neither she nor her Riolu would be able to take much more taunting from the two in front of them. "Riolu, use Circle Throw." She commanded and watched as her Riolu smirked and disappeared in its sudden movements. Paul blinked in surprise and looked around the field, along with his Torterra, trying to find the little blue Pokemon.

Both trainer and grass type were startled though when Torterra was lifted off of the ground and swung in a circle and flying towards Paul, landing just in front of him and then being covered in red energy and returned to its Pokeball. Electivire appeared back out on the field with a yell as it looked around. "Another return move then." Paul said as he looked at the Riolu that wasn't even panting from picking up the large leaf type.

"Are you convinced yet that my Riolu isn't weak or are you still confident?" Ashley asked with a hand on her hip while her Riolu had its arms crossed, glaring at the Electivire.

Paul nodded his head towards the girl. "You've shown the power of your Riolu, but will it be able to take on both of my Pokemon on its own?" He asked as he looked towards his Electivire. "Thunder punch!" The Electivire nodded and charged both of its fists up with thunder and ran towards the Riolu that hadn't moved an inch. "Why aren't you commanding it?" He asked as he looked at Ashley.

Ashley stood there for several moments before she commanded her Riolu finally. "Counter with Force Palm." The Riolu spread its stance and held a paw out at the Electivire, waiting until it got closer to use its attack. Once Electivire was close enough, it dodged the first punch but allowed the other to slide of its side, causing it to flinch and keeping the Force Palm from being used.

Ashley smiled at this as her Riolu leapt away from the Electivire and landed back in front of her. "Tell me Paul, have you ever heard of the ability Steadfast?" She asked as she looked at her opponent.

Paul raised an eyebrow at that, wondering what it had to do with the battle at the moment. "The ability to raise its speed upon flinching? What about it?" He asked as he looked to her and then to her Riolu.

Ashley smirked at that as she looked at her Riolu that smirked back before returning its attention back to the Electivire. "My Riolu just so happens to have this ability." She stated and Paul's eyes widened in understanding. "Riolu use screech and then Force Palm!" Ashley commanded and Riolu nodded.

The screech caused not only Electivire to cover its ears but Paul as well. From there it sped straight at Electivire, unseen to the human eye due to its speed increase, and slammed its power wave into Electivire that sent the electric type flying. Paul scowled at the little Emanation Pokemon before looking back at his Electivire. "Giga Impact Electivire." Paul ordered and watched as his Pokemon created the purple sphere again.

"Copycat!" Ashley yelled with a smirk and watched as her own Pokemon copied the move and ran straight at Electivire as well, the purple sphere appearing out its little form.

Paul watched horrified as the two collided and was surprised to find it a draw. An explosion ricocheted around the area and sent the two Pokemon flying away from each other. "Rest up Riolu!" Ashley called with a smile and watched as her Riolu quickly sat cross legged and closed its eyes, a blue glow appearing around its body. Paul watched this with interest, knowing exactly what the move did and wondering why the girl would risk it right now.

Paul had to wait several moments though before he could command his Pokemon again. "Electivire, use Brick Break and then thunder punch." He commanded instead of waiting, he was going to take advantage of this no matter what. Ashley just smiled as Electivire hit Riolu with its Brick Break, causing it to flinch. The electric type was just about to slam its thunder punch into the little Pokemon when it suddenly shot its eyes wide open and dodged out of the way of both punches with frightening speed.

"Did you forget about steadfast?" Ashley asked as the Riolu stretched slightly and then looked back at the stunned Electivire with a smirk. "The more he flinches, the faster he gets." Paul gulped slightly before he looked at his Electivire, noticing how tired it was and how heavy it was breathing. Both of his Pokemon were tired and this little guy looked like it had just started!

'I need a plan and fast!' Paul thought as he looked at the Riolu, his mind racing with something, anything to use against it. That was when an idea came to him and he smirked as he looked at his Electivire. 'I'll have to thank Ash if I ever see him again.'

Ashley sighed in irritation at having to wait and was getting tired of it so she did it herself instead of waiting. "Force palm Riolu, put all you've got into it!" Ashley yelled as her Riolu nodded and did as told. It ran straight for Electivire but was taken by surprise with what happened next.

"Counter Shield!" Paul yelled and the Electivire grinned as it began to release electricity all over the field randomly, stopping Riolu in its tracks as it looked at the hitting electricity.

Ashley stared at the move with wide eyes that changed to narrowed eyes with hatred in its depth; a growl escaped her throat as she stared at the move. "What do you think of this?" Paul asked with a smirk and his arms crossed in accomplishment. "Another Trainer came up with it, but I put it to use as well. It's saved me multiple times." Paul said as he watched Ashley with calculating eyes, trying to figure out what she would do next.

Ashley looked at the counter shield, knowing that this defense was powerful and could take Riolu out if she wasn't careful. She finally smirked as an idea hit her and she couldn't wait to see what Paul did against this. "Alright Riolu, use Mind Reader and get around this shield!" She commanded and she watched as the little fighter type closed its eyes and took a deep breath.

Paul watched with interest at this move, not having seen it in use before, and wondered if it would really be able to do what it's said to do. He watched with a little anticipation and then in total shock as the Riolu began to move through the Counter Shield. He watched as it twirled and flipped and avoided all of the shocks that his Electivire made and finally came in close to the electric type.

The final command from Ashley surprised him since it was said only a Riolu born from an egg and then trained could use that move in a certain Kingdom. "Use Aura Sphere!" The little blue Pokemon opened its eyes back up and summoned up the Aura sphere, slamming it into the electric type before Paul could call out anything.

"Leeeeeccc!" The Electivire yelled out in pain as it was sent flying back and onto its back just in front of Paul. It didn't get back up.

"Electivire is unable to battle, Riolu is the winner!" The ref yelled with a look of disbelief on his face.

Ashley smiled at the Riolu as it jumped up and down in excitement, which she could understand before this was its first battle since she had received it as an Egg four years ago. "Good job Riolu, but this isn't over just yet, we still have one more battle to go." She said and her Riolu nodded and turned back towards Paul, arms crossed with a smirk on its face.

Paul just stared in surprise at the little Pokemon, not having expected such a move especially when Aura Sphere is learned when it evolved into Lucario. It was almost unheard of for a Riolu to learn the powerful move since it took a lot of concentration and energy to attempt in the first place. The Kingdom that bred Riolu to use the Aura Sphere was the only place that it was normally possible then.

Paul gulped in slightly trepidation as he realized just how powerful that Riolu truly was. He shook his head though as he took out his last Pokemon and released it onto the battle field, horror appearing on his face as he realized just how damaged his Torterra was. It was barely standing up and it was breathing exceedingly hard. The damage from the Dragonite had taken a lot out of it and he wasn't sure how much it could take. "Alright, we need to end this now! Torterra, Frenzy plant!"

Ashley froze at that command, already knowing what it did. Her mind had retreated though to six years ago, back to the Sinnoh League where his Pikachu had faced Torterra as a last resort.

_"Use Frenzy Plant and crush that rodent!" _

_ "Pikkkaaaaaa!"_

_ "NO Pikachu!"_

Ashley shook her head as she turned back towards the battle in time to see her Riolu quickly jump on top of the vines and head towards the exhausted Torterra. "Get as close as possible and use Aura Sphere, if you can use force palm with it!" Ashley called out and the Riolu did as told.

It quickly moved across the vines, its speed still increased from previous flinches before and arrived just in front of the Torterra in moments. Its aura sphere appeared in its paws and then slammed into the monstrous Pokemon along with extra power from Force Palm.

A cloud of dust appeared around the two Pokemon and the trainers had to wait for the results of such a devastating attack.

Moments passed as the dust began to settle and both trainers were startled to see that Torterra was still up.

With Riolu's paw held tightly in its mouth.

Paul smirked as he looked at Ashley and then at Torterra. "Use Hyperbeam and finish this before you take any more damage." Paul commanded and watched as Torterra began to gather energy.

"Riolu, concentrate and use your free paw to slam a force palm into Torterra's head and get away." Ashley commanded.

She wasn't disappointed as Riolu stopped struggling long enough to do as told, slamming its paw into the other's head and jumping away quickly once its paw had been released on reflex to the pain that Torterra had felt.

Paul growled but shook his head as he went to command his Torterra to release its solar beam, only to gasp as he realized that Torterra's head was facing up from the force palm and had already released its solar beam at the ceiling. Both trainers watched as rocks fell on top of Torterra, including the creatures head. Dust kicked up again and left Torterra hidden from everyone. Paul hoped that his Pokemon was alright while he waited, wondering if it was still able to battle.

Ashley had a feeling that Paul was finished; there was no way that the grass type could handle something like that after taking a direct hit to the head with a force palm. She was proven wrong when the Torterra stood up and shook the rocks away from its body and glared at the Riolu, as if it was its fault that the Torterra had to endure the fall of the rocks.

Riolu growled in irritation as it prepared to run at the Torterra with a more aggressive move. "Don't Riolu." Ashley said instead, stopping it in its tracks before it could move. "Calm down alright, take a deep breath and relax." Riolu did as told and stopped, taking a deep breath and regaining its calm countenance. "Once you've calmed down use Quick Attack to get close and then use screech, follow by an Aura Sphere." Ashley said as she watched her Pokemon begin to move. With Steadfast her Pokemon was able to move faster than what Paul could see.

"Wait for it to reappear and use Giga-drain." Paul said as he watched his Pokemon nod and stands its ground. It was only moments later that an earsplitting screech sounded to the left of Torterra, causing the plant type to screech in its own pain. Paul grunted at the sound as well but watched as Torterra was able to regain itself after the attack and then move to use the Giga-drain, three glowing vines appearing on its side and moving towards the Riolu.

"Dodge it!" Ashley yelled and Riolu was able to do so easily and then it fired the Aura sphere at Torterra, nailing it on the head.

Torterra groaned in pain before it finally fell down. It didn't get up.

"Torterra is unable to battle, the winner is Riolu. This battle goes to Ashley Catching of Viridian City!" The ref called out with a big smile.

Ashley smiled as well as she sat down her Bulbasaur to run over to Riolu and gather him up in her arms, hugging it tightly as it hugged her back. "That was great for your first real battle Riolu, I'm so proud of you!" She yelled as she swung it around in a circle.

Paul stared in astonishment at the girl when she said that, not quite believing it. "First battle? Are you freaking kidding me?!" Paul yelled in anger as he recalled his Torterra and stomped over to Ashley with anger flaring in his eyes.

Ashley turned to him with Bulbasaur at her feet and Riolu in her arms, all three staring at him with cold expressions, only Riolu growling got louder as Paul got closer to them. "So what if it was his first battle, I've been training him for over four years." She stated easily as Paul finally came to a stop in front of her. "He's actually one of my strongest besides my first six Pokemon." Ashley stated as calmly as she could.

"That's impossible though! For a pre-evolved Pokemon to be stronger than two fully evolved Pokemon and to have no problem defeating them! That's just not right!" Paul exclaimed as he stared at Ashley angrily.

Ashley was starting to lose control on her own temper, knowing that this wasn't about to end well anymore. "Are you saying that my Pokemon are weak, that I can't train them as well as I've said I can?" She questioned as her eyes became shadowed by her hat and her hold on her Riolu tightened to the point where the poor fighting type was having problems breathing.

"Yes I am! That just isn't possible for one trainer to make a Pokemon as powerful as that!" Paul stated with a sneer as he crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to admit that he had just lost to a weak Pokemon like a Riolu when he had defeated a Lucario without a problem.

"Let me go! Let me go! I'll destroy you! I'll make sure you'll never get the Courage badge! Not while I'm alive! Do you hear me Paul! Not while I'm alive!" Ashley yelled at the other trainer, not realizing that her hat had fallen off of her head and tears were now falling down her cheeks.

Paul was looking up at what he had thought was a girl, but he wasn't so sure now since he was looking at her unobstructed face with her hat gone. He stared at the furiously burning chocolate eyes and looked at the Bulbasaur that was holding its trainer back and up off the ground with vine whip and then at the Riolu that was staring at its trainer in awe and admiration. He himself was holding his nose that was bleeding profusely and most likely broken.

It was at this point that Gary entered the Gym and stared in horror at Paul and at the struggling Ashley. He turned to see George the ref just standing there staring in surprise and astonishment. It was finally after Ashley spat out a particularly nasty curse that Gary jumped into action and ran over to the two trainers.

"Ashley Catching! What in the world do you think you're doing!?" Gary asked with angry eyes and hands on his hips as he stood in front of Paul, blocking him from Ashley's view. "You can't just attack a trainer like that!"

Ashley huffed and crossed her arms as she glared at Gary. "He started it! He insulted my Riolu and my ability to train it! It worked hard to learn that attack!" Ashley stated as she looked at Gary with fierce eyes.

Gary blinked as he finally took in the small fighting type, smiling as he knelt down and patted it on the head. "So this is the Pokemon you were hiding from me, it looks very powerful, I've never seen a Riolu with such a shiny coat or powerful looking muscles." Gary stated but stood back up and stared at Ashley with hard eyes. "But that doesn't give you the right to punch him! We could get in trouble if he decides to report this to the Pokemon League Committee and we can't afford that!" Gary said as he turned his back on the restrained trainer and turned back towards Paul.

"I'm sorry; she doesn't like it when people insult her Pokemon." Gary explained as he hauled the younger boy to his feet and looked at his nose. "You'll have to go see a doctor for the nose, I'm pretty sure that's broken." Gary stated. "I'll go with you to make sure you get there alright, I don't need you hurting yourself on the way over there, especially with some of the gangs we've been having around town lately." Gary said as he started to lead Paul away. "Go and calm down Ashley, I'm sure some of the Pokemon in the Sanctuary would like to see you, not to mention you need to heal the Pokemon you used in this battle." Gary left with his final words as he helped the now calm Paul out of the gym.

Ash huffed as he looked down at his Bulbasaur with a raised eyebrow. "I think you can put me down now Bulbasaur, the jerk is gone and I'm not going to chase after him." He stated and once Bulbasaur released him Ash picked the Seed Pokemon up and looked over at Riolu, who now had his hat on its own head, nodding towards the door. "Let's go to the infirmary first and then I'll take you guys back to the Sanctuary so you can finally meet everyone." Ash stated as he started to walk out of the gym with his Pokemon, leaving behind a still stunned Ref.

He walked to the infirmary, walking into the room without knocking. "Cinthia, I have some Pokemon from a Pokemon battle that need to be healed." He stated as he sat his Pokemon belt onto the table, along with Bulbasaur and Riolu. "They need to be healed so I can take them back to the sanctuary."

Cinthia looked over at him with a raised brow and looked over to the belt and Pokemon. "Take your hat back and come back in ten minutes, I'll have them ready to go by then." She said and went to work, starting on the Pokemon that were still in their Pokeballs.

Ash nodded and walked out, heading down the hall to the kitchen where they kept all of their food for both humans and Pokemon. He thought that the Pokemon he had used in battle deserved a treat for their hard work. Once he got inside he stopped at one of the counters and slammed his hand onto it, most likely bruising it as he did.

"That bastard." Was all he said as he stood there for a good seven minutes.

Pokemon!

Gary sighed as he looked at Paul, the teenager sitting on the counter, grumbling under his breath as they waited for the doctor to come back in with the okay to leave. "You know, I'm still wondering why you had to insult Ashley, she hasn't done anything in particular to you." Gary said as he looked at the boy with hard eyes.

Paul's own eyes narrowed at the Researcher and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't in a particular mood to answer Gary's questions; especially since his had his own that he wanted ask. He was pretty sure though that he wouldn't be getting his answers from the Gym leader.

"Ashley might not have been in a battle before today, but she's trained all of the Pokemon in my gym, not to mention her own, for a while now. She's even taught them some new moves, though I haven't had a chance to see them in battle yet. She's a powerful opponent not to mention her temper is unrivaled." Gary chuckled at that before he returned to his stoic mask. "Either way, you had no real right to insult her like that."

Paul growled and glared at him before returning his attention to the door that was now opening. The doctor appeared holding a clipboard and looking up at the two boys, smiling at them gently. "Well, it looks like your nose is indeed broken, but that's an easy fix, just hold still." He said as he sat his clipboard aside and stood in front of Paul. "Tilt your head back slightly and breathe through your mouth, this is going to hurt."

Paul rolled his eyes but did as told, it was a moment later that Paul's eyes were wide and he yelped in pain. "Gah!" Paul bent his head back down and covered his nose gently, feeling a slight trail of blood rolling from his nose.

"I told you it would hurt; now hold still, I need to put this on your nose." The Doc said as he rose the younger's head back up and gently placed a bandage over it to hold it in place. "You'll be fine, you can remove the bandage after a day or so and you'll have to be careful afterwards."

Paul grunted in affirmation as he wiped the blood from his nose gently and stood up. "Thanks." He said as he left the room and went to the front to pay for the treatment.

Gary followed behind him silently as waited at the door for the boy to pay for his bill before leaving with him. "You know, you should actually be nicer to those who battle you, you have no idea what they do or how they train their Pokemon." Gary said as he looked in front of him, watching the road and making sure they wouldn't be ran over.

Paul grunted as he walked, already knowing that he was going to head back to the gym, he had a bone to pick after all. "I don't really care much. It just seems idiotic to lose to a pre-evolution Pokemon." He stated after several moments.

Gary shook his head at that before stopping in front of Paul and glaring at the younger trainer. "Look, I doesn't matter that it was a Pre-evolved Pokemon, it only matters that it is well trained." Gary started, already having given this speech before to several others who had lost to Ash's Bulbasaur and Buizel. "As long as a Pokemon is strong and willing to put in the effort into each battle, then that's that. I've seen a Cleffa beat a Luxray before."

Paul growled again as he went around Gary and went into a fast walk, intent on finding that girl again. "I don't really care; I just want to know how she made that Riolu so strong." He stated as he avoided looking into Gary's eyes so that the Gym leader wouldn't know that that wasn't his only goal.

Gary looked at the teenager with a wary eye but couldn't tell if he was lying, so he just went with it and allowed the boy to lead them back to the gym, for he knew that was were Paul wanted to go. It was only about half an hour that they were able to walk back to the gym, instead of taking a cab like they had to the hospital.

There Gary instantly walked towards one of the doors and headed to the Sanctuary, where he knew that Ashley would be with the Pokemon, most likely training them and with them, especially if he had taken some of them to the exercise room where the treadmills were. Paul followed right behind him, wondering where exactly they were heading, but his mind still on the girl that had beat him like it had been a piece of cake, even if it had been six years since she had battled before their battle earlier. She must've had been a powerful trainer and he was sure he knew who.

Gary walked into the sanctuary where he could see some of the Pokemon crowding around something on the ground, cheering on something that he knew he wasn't going to like at all. He moved quickly towards the crowd and then spent several moments pushing pass Pokemon to get to the middle, Paul was right behind him, working just as hard to get through.

When Gary got to the middle though, he wished he hadn't. He quickly covered his face with his hands and groaned into them, wondering if his Trainer was really as nuts as she looked like she was. "Come on! You can do better than that! Push back harder!" Gary groaned again at the command.

Paul paused a moment at the command before finally pushing to the front and looking at the spectacle that was taking place. It was Ashley who was wearing her hat again, but her blouse was gone and was now only wearing her white loose shirt. She was struggling and pushing against a Machop that was a few feet shorter than her. They were struggling against each other, the Machop sweating just as much as the human pushing against it.

"Come on! If you can't push me back, then come up with a different way to deal with me!" Ashley ordered as she closed her eyes and began to push the Superpower Pokemon back several inches.

The order to find a way to deal with her though was exactly what Machop did. Its crimson eyes narrowed and it dug its feet into the ground, gripping a startled Ashley's hands tightly and then swinging its arms up into the air, Ashley following the movement as her feet left the ground. Ashley screamed in surprise and panic as she was thrown out of the circle and far out enough that instead of hitting any of the surrounding Pokemon, she hit the hard ground.

The Pokemon instantly scattered as they all moved to check on the Trainer. The first one there was Arcanine, who nosed the panting Ashley gently. "I'm okay." She muttered as she continued to take deep breaths. "I just wasn't expecting that." She stated.

"Of course you weren't expecting it!" Ashley's eyes shot open and her head tilted backwards to look at Gary, who seemed to be upside down to her. "You ordered it to find a way to beat you so it came up with a way! Which was incredibly stupid to do in the first place! That toss could've killed you!" Gary yelled at the downed trainer.

Ashley just rolled her eyes as she sat up, her back now to Gary as she rubbed her head and then slowly stood up, hissing as her limbs protested for several moments, adjusting from wrestling with the Machop to being tossed to standing again. "Quit worrying so much, I know what I'm doing." She rolled her shoulder backwards to loosen some of her muscles. "I did this with Riolu all the time." Right on cue the little blue Pokemon appeared, pumping its fist in the air in excitement as it exclaimed in just as much excitement.

Gary rolled his eyes either way and then finally just shrugged his shoulders, already knowing it was useless to try and fight with her. "Either way, you owe the trainer from before an apology. I don't care what your excuse it, you still owe him an apology." Gary said sternly, forestalling any argument with a pointed look.

Ashley felt her brow twitch as she took her blouse from Buizel and slipped it back on, buttoning it up quickly before glaring at Paul again. "I'm so sorry…" She began and Gary smiled at her and was about to say something, but was stopped as Ashley continued, "That you're a stuck up prick that can't take a defeat quietly." She said, crossing her arms and ignoring the glare from Gary.

Paul frowned at the girl before glancing at Gary and then back at Ashley. "I want to speak to you alone." Paul stated, ignoring the 'apology' from the Trainer.

Gary frowned at him before looking at Ashley, who was staring suspiciously at the lavender haired teen, and then looking back at Paul. "Alright, I'll go." Gary said as he began to walk out of the room.

Ashley stared at him in surprise, wondering what had gotten into the Researcher and gym leader. "What! Why are you going?" She asked quickly and went to run after him, but stopped when he turned towards her with a hard look.

"I want you to give him a real apology and he obviously wants to ask you something in private, so I'm going to the lab and work on my research." With that he walked away again but stopped again with one more thing. "Don't get into a fight." Then Gary disappeared through the door.

Ashley looked at the door for several minutes before turning to Paul, ignoring how all of the Pokemon that had been surrounding her and Machop earlier were now surrounding them. "So what is it that you want to ask anyways?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looked at the younger trainer.

Paul smirked as he walked up to her, looking down as he was a good four feet taller than her. "Why don't you tell me why you're not going by the name Ash Ketchum anymore?"

Ashley stared at him in astonishment and horror as what he had just said sunk in. It was only moments later that the sound of a pained yelled echoed through the Sanctuary and the sound of a body hitting the ground could be heard.

Pokemon!

A.N. Alright, that was pretty epic, especially Ash hitting Paul in the face and breaking his nose. I can't wait for the next part! Hoped you all enjoyed it and please tell me what you thought by reviewing. Thanks and good night!


	6. Deadly Decision

Chapter Six

Deadly Decision

He really couldn't help it. It was just too funny, not to mention that he totally deserved what he got from this particular Pokemon. So without too much of a care in the world he began to laugh at fallen teenager while holding his stomach.

Meanwhile Infernape was glaring down at his old trainer with fire burning in its eyes, not to mention that the flames on top of its head was flaring wildly in its anger. Paul was staring up at the Flame Pokemon with wary eyes, unsure of what the Pokemon would do at that moment.

It was also about this time that Gary decided that he could walk back in and he freaked when he saw Infernape on Paul, not to mention pissed that Ash was just standing there laughing. "What the hell is going on here!? I thought I left you here to talk, not kill the kid!" He exclaimed as he walked over towards Infernape and pulled the monkey off of Paul by the scruff of its neck. "Stop laughing already Ashley! It's not funny!"

Ash quickly stood back up straight with his hands in front of him as he tried to ward off his angry friend, but his giggles weren't helping his case. "I didn't do it! I didn't do it! Infernape decided to keep Paul away from me is all!" He stated as he backed away from Gary as the other approached him threateningly.

"I don't care if it was your fault or not. He's your Pokemon! Keep better control of him and we wouldn't be having this problem." Gary stated as he shoved a finger into the other's chest threateningly. "I don't want to have to kick you out but if you keep this up I'll have to." Gary finally said tiredly as he ran a hand over his face.

Ash stared at him shocked, unsure of what to say to that, but finally shook his head and growled. "Fine, go ahead and get rid of me." Ash stated fiercely as he turned his gaze back onto Paul. "This'll just give me the chance to destroy Paul in the Pokemon League." He stated as he turned to leave, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I'm not firing you, I'm just telling you that if he takes a complaint to the Committee than not only am I in trouble, but so are you. I'm just giving you a warning about what could happen is all." Gary explained quickly as he turned the other around quickly so they were facing each other. "Just be a little more careful and you'll be fine."

Paul could only roll his eyes as he stood back up, wiping the dirt off of his pants before turning towards the pair. "I'm not going to report anything to the committee." He stated.

Gary and Ash both jumped as they turned towards the teenager with wide eyes. Both of them had forgotten that the teen was still there, but both quickly regained their composure and stared at him. Gary in a curious nature while Ash downright glared at him.

"Really? Why is that then?" The Researcher asked as he looked at younger male with a critical eye, unsure of whether to believe him or not.

Paul shrugged as he turned back towards Ash with a small smirk on his face. "Maybe it's because I actually lost to a two bit trainer that ran with his tail between his legs after the League in Sinnoh with his weakling Pokemon half dead and I want to know why he's back and why he's dressed like a girl."

Gary had to react fast as Ash tried to run pass him to get to Paul. He swiftly slipped his arms under Ash's and brought his hands up behind Ash's head, effectively putting the trainer in a headlock and glaring at Paul. "Remember that little talk we had at the Hospital? Yeah, now would be a good time to shut up!" Gary yelled at the teen, but Paul's smirk just got bigger.

"Whatever happened to that rodent anyways? It looked pretty damaged after that frenzy plant." Paul commented as he stared at Ash, who was now frozen where he was.

Gary blinked in surprise at the sudden stillness, unsure of whether it was a good sign or not, but he decided to hold onto the smaller male anyways just in case. "Really Paul, just shut up before I have you kicked out of here." Gary snarled as he looked at the other boy, but yelled in surprise a second later as an elbow slammed into his head.

Ash had quickly taken advantage of the loosen grip Gary had on him as he slammed his elbow into his friend's face and then lunged for Paul with a vicious snarl. Paul growled in annoyance as he was tackled again, but this time he was ready for it. He rolled with Ash and had the other pinned to the ground in only seconds due to his bigger stature and weight. This didn't stop Ash though as he slammed a free palm into the other's nose, effectively re-breaking the cartilage.

Paul yelled in pain as blood gushed from his nose and fell onto Ash, effectively ruining his blouse and t-shirt. He ignored it though in favor of flipping the two of them over and slamming a knee into a pained Paul's stomach. "You son of bitch!" Ash screeched, his female voice at the moment coming out in a high pitch and hurting the other males' ears. "It's your fault!" He yelled again as he punched Paul in the face, this time in the eye.

Paul grunted as he got a hold on his pain again and effectively got a hold on the smaller male by his shoulders and flipping them over again, slamming his own knee into Ash's thigh and stomach before punching the other in the face, trying to break his nose in return but failing. Ash struggled from underneath Paul before finally deciding enough was enough and slamming one of his own knees into the one place no male should be kneed.

Paul keened in pain as he fell off of Ash and to the side, holding onto his family jewels as he groaned in pain. Ash went to jump on the incapacitated male again, only to be grabbed up into a huge bear hug by blue arms. Ash kicked against Blastoise but was unable to escape. "Let me the hell go! It's his fault any of this happened in the first place! I'll put him in his place once and for all!" Ash screamed, once again his voice hurting everyone's ears due to it being female at the moment.

Gary came to stand next to Blastoise, a good sized goose egg appearing on the side of his head as he glared at Ash. "Good job Blastoise, hold her tight so she can't get away." He stated as he turned towards the now kneeling Paul. "As for you, I don't think I need to have you restrained, do I?" Gary asked as he glanced towards the Machop that was ready to hold the other boy if needed.

Paul shook his head, unable to speak at the moment due to being hit hard earlier. Gary nodded his head in acceptance as he turned back towards a struggling Ash. He stopped in his tracks though as he looked at his longtime rival/friend, not believing what he was seeing.

Ash no longer had his hat on his head; it was now being held by his Riolu off to the side. His face was a bright red as he continued to struggle against the Shellfish Pokemon. His face was framed by loose hair that had managed to escape from his braid, but the most startling part of him at the moment was the fact that tears were rolling down his face in torrents but his eyes were dull with a terrifying darkness.

Gary gulped at the look in his friend's eyes, unsure of what to do at the moment. He instead turned towards Paul with a pissed off look appearing on his own face. "What the hell did you do to her?" Gary asked, still using the word for a girl at the moment, though he was quite sure that Paul knew who Ash really was.

Paul growled as he stood back up, bent forward slightly to try and keep from hurting. "Hell if I know. I haven't seen that weakling in years, how should I know what I did?" He asked as he fingered one of his Pokeballs, tempted to call one of them out, especially since he had them healed while he was being checked out at the hospital.

"You must've done something to her if she's like this! I've never seen her this dead looking before!" Gary shouted as he approached Paul and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You must've done something terrible if she's effected this much by whatever the hell you did." He stated with his eyes sparking with anger.

Paul scoffed as he pushed the man off of him and went to leave the building, finally having enough of the crap when a voice froze him in his place.

"He killed Pikachu."

Gary looked at Ash in horror as he took in the information. His heart clenching as he finally realized what had happened to Pikachu and why Ash hated Paul so much. With that in mind he turned to the startled boy again, his eyes spitting flames in his anger. "You son of a bitch." Gary whispered as he stared at the young trainer.

Paul was frozen where he stood, eyes wide as he looked at the door out of the Sanctuary. He couldn't believe what he just heard from the idiot from his past. He gulped as he realized that he was in deep shit at that moment.

Gary turn back towards Ash, his eyes softening as he realized that he had bowed his head and was no longer struggling. "Let him go Blastoise, but be ready to grab him if you have to." Gary stated and watched as the other male was set back onto the ground. He tensed ready to catch his friend if he decided to go after Paul once he came back to himself.

Ash stayed still though, he didn't bother to move an inch, so Gary decided that he'd turn back to Paul and deal with the still frozen teen, only to stare wide eyes as a group of familiar Pokemon surrounded the teen. Paul had had enough sense at this point to pull out a Pokeball, but it was pulled out of his hand by a vine whip while he Pokeball belt was pulled off by another vine whip. "Oh, this isn't good." Gary said as Ash's Pokemon began to move closer to a defenseless Paul.

Paul growled low in his throat as he stared at the leading Pokemon, Bulbasaur, with a glare and fear in his eyes. He knew that these Pokemon would have no problem ripping him apart from a single whisper from the dimwit behind him. He was without his Pokemon thanks to the Bulbasaur and Sceptile. Then there was the fact that the Bayleef looked like it was gearing up to use a type of powder, whether it was poison or stun, he didn't know. The bird types were all flying in the air along with a bug type, all glaring at him heatedly. The water types looked like they were ready to use a water gun while the fire types were all flaring wildly, especially the Infernape. It had to be the dragon types and the Snorlax that had him worried though, mostly due to their size at the moment. The Snorlax could easily crush him by falling on him while the Gabite and Dragonite could rip him to shreds easily.

He stiffened suddenly though when he felt something move behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see the little Emanation Pokemon there, an aura sphere held in its hand while its eyes glowed an unusual bright blue.

Paul blinked at that and slowly turned towards the Riolu, wondering why its normally crimson eyes were a bright blue at the moment. He gulped again as the Pokemon began to slowly move behind him again, this time moving closer towards his back, making sure that he wouldn't be able to get away from the fighting type easily.

Gary was still watching the scene when he felt a heavy presence almost knock him to his knees. He gasped in surprise and horror as he turned to look at where the presence was, only to gasp in true terror as he realized what it was.

Paul's head snapped when he heard the cries of both Gary and Blastoise, both flying away from the still figure that was Ash. He gasped as he watched the Blastoise slide a good fifty yards and into the pond, startling several of the Goldeen and Magikarp there. His eyes flew to Gary who lies motionless about twenty yards away from Ash.

His eyes quickly flew back towards Ash as the boy began to move towards him and his group of Pokemon, his head still bowed towards the ground. Paul watched in pure astonishment, though he shouldn't have, as the Pokemon split apart enough to allow Ash through so the boy could stand in front of Paul and at the back of his Riolu.

Paul took a deep breath before opening his mouth. "Is this the only way you can face me Ketchum?" Paul asked as he stared at the motionless man, wondering what he was thinking. "You surround me with your Pokemon to keep me from escaping and then gang up on me with them? Are you really that much of a coward?" Paul asked but was silenced as he was sent flying backwards from the aura sphere that Riolu had held onto.

"No, it's not the only way." Ash stated as he lifted his head towards Paul, narrowing his eyes as he stepped in front of Riolu. Paul groaned and looked up towards the other male, his own eyes widening as he looked into Ash's glowing blue eyes. "But it's the way that I'd like to deal with you." Ash stated just as his Bulbasaur and Bayleef teamed up to wrap Paul in a Vine whip.

Paul glowered at Ash, ignoring the startling blue eyes as he tried to get himself out of the trouble he was in. "This isn't going to scare me." Paul said, ignoring said fear that was beginning to trickle down his spine.

Ash smiled at him sweetly, making the situation all that more terrifying. "I'm not doing this to scare you Paul." Ash continued to say in his bell like female voice, beginning to walk around the younger boy. "I'm doing this for the pain you caused my Pokemon with your ruthless methods." Ash stated as his smile disappeared and a glare replaced it.

Paul just glared at him and prepared for whatever what coming, only to be stopped as flames slammed into the two grass types that were holding him, releasing him from the vine whip. Then a blast of water sent the fire types flying away and then a Nidoking slammed into the Snorlax while another blast of water took down the Muk that had been hidden behind the Snorlax. Another blast took out the ice type that was there while a blast of ice froze the dragon types where they stood and finally a psychic brought both Ash and the Riolu up into the air where they were stuck floating.

Slowly, ever so slowly, the glow in their eyes began to brighten and then began to cover their bodies. Paul watched from horror on the grass as the aura around the two began to fight with the psychic hold on them. "Good job Alakazam, keep them there for as long as possible." Paul turned to look at the researcher that was leaning against his Electivire. He several long scratches on his face and hands while his clothes were torn rather badly. "I'll see if I can talk him out of his rage."

With that Gary walked over to the floating pair while chaos reigned in the Sanctuary behind him. Pokemon that belonged to Gary and also wild Pokemon were all fighting against Ash's Pokemon. Ash's Pokemon were at a clear disadvantage due to their small numbers and their stronger fighters already taken out of the game due to being frozen or taking a direct hit from the fire attacks.

Paul watched the attacks and had to dodge an attack from the Infernape that had somehow gotten away from the rest. He needed his Pokemon. It was just as he was dodging a flame wheel that he saw his loose Pokeball and his Pokebelt. He stood up and dashed towards it, having to slid on his stomach as a flamethrower came flying towards him from behind. He smirked as he grabbed both the belt and the Pokeball, quickly releasing his own Electivire and Gastrodon. "Use water pulse on that Infernape Gastrodon!" Paul ordered and smiled as the attack landed and direct hit.

Gary meanwhile had come to a direct stop in front of the struggling duo, his eyes saddened as he watched Ash try and fight his way out of the situation, like he use to when he was younger. Though right now Ash looked nothing like his old stubborn self when he was a kid. He looked like a soldier trying to fight back against a terrible evil that was trying to destroy his home, his last hope at a happy life. "Ash, you know that none of this is going to bring him back." Gary stated as he attempted to gain Ash's attention.

Ash himself was still struggling to gain control over the psychic attack but he was able to listen to Gary at the same time and he stopped long enough to stare at his old friend and rival. "It may not bring him back but it'll make me feel like I did something." Ash stated as he closed his eyes suddenly and shoved a massive amount of power through the link towards Alakazam.

The psychic cried out in pain as the power of the aura attack hit it, sending it flying backwards and away from a now standing Ash and Riolu. Gary stared at the boy with awe and fear, unsure of what Ash would do now. "Ash! You can't hurt Paul; you'll only be hurting yourself!" Gary yelled as he got control of himself again and stopped in front of Ash, stopping the other boy from heading towards Paul.

Ash snarled as his Riolu came to stand in front of him and preparing to attack Gary to get the other to move out of his way. "I don't care!" Ash screamed as tears began to fall down his face again and he struggled to keep the power in his grip. "I don't care anymore! He hurt Pikachu! He hurt my best friend!" The boy dressed girl screamed, causing almost all of the Pokemon in the Sanctuary to fall silent and still.

Gary cringed at that, knowing that Ash had taken the hit to Pikachu worse than what he had originally thought. The boy was incredibly unstable because of that and now Paul was the target of hatred and revenge for what he had done. Whether he had meant to do it or not.

"Then think about your Pokemon Ashley." Gary blinked at the sound of the elder female voice, turning around to see long red hair to sweep passed him towards Ash, wrapping deceivingly strong arms around the others neck and pulling him to her chest. "Think of the Pokemon you still have here, they still need you." She said to the boy in her hold, soothingly running her hands through the wild hair that had come undone from the braid. "What will they do if you were to disappear again, from what I was told several of them had almost given up on you ever coming back? I don't think they'd survive another disappearing act."

Gary watched as Cinthia did her thing, in awe how the glow from Ash's teary eyes disappeared and returned to chocolate eyes that were quickly clench shut as Ash began to sob heavily. Gary glanced towards the side where the Riolu had been pushed and sighed in relief to see crimson eyes that were also shedding tears for his master. Gary turned around, feeling that Ash was in good hands for the first time in a while, to deal with the other rampaging Pokemon in the Sanctuary.

He blinked in surprise though as he realized that almost all of the Pokemon had come to a stop and were watching Ash cry, all of them crying with the boy in their sadness for the trainer that had so lovingly taken care of them and made them stronger. But there was still three Pokemon that were moving and attacking another person and his Pokemon.

Infernape was easily beating the Gastrodon that Paul had, glowing with the use of the obvious Blaze Veil surrounding it as it allowed the water attacks to hit it with very little damage occurring.

From there Bulbasaur was throwing razor left after razor leaf at Frosslass while moving constantly to dodge the ice shards and blizzards sent towards it. The Frosslass looked like it was beginning to wear down but also seemed frustrated as it continued to try and hit the Seed Pokemon.

The third Pokemon that was fighting was Buizel who was slamming again and again against Electivire with an Aqua Jet continuously, avoiding any and all electric attacks from the Thunderbolt Pokemon. Buizel also seemed to be able to avoid becoming paralyzed from every attack. This confused Gary since, even if Electivire didn't have the ability static, Buizel should've been paralyze from the number of times he had come into contact with the other Electric Pokemon.

Paul was staring at his Pokemon in horror as he realized that they weren't exactly in a good enough position to attack back from the way that Ash's were ruthlessly attacking. Gary wasn't sure how to help since he could only think of knocking the other Pokemon out or recalling them to their Pokeballs.

Knocking them out wasn't going to work at the moment for he risked hitting Paul's Pokemon instead of Ash's due to the speed that they were using to attack.

Recalling them wasn't going to be possible at the moment either since their Pokeballs were held in a locker down the hall and that would take too much time to do and Paul could be hurt badly in that time.

"Torterra, stand by!" Gary blinked at the Continent Pokemon appeared, roaring and surprising the three Pokemon into stillness for just long enough. "Use Frenzy Plant!"

Gary's eyes widened in surprise at the call and watched as both Infernape and Buizel dodged away from the attack and their opponents easily, avoiding being crushed as their opponents also went to safety. But there was one Pokemon that couldn't get out of the way fast enough; even if it could use Quick Attack it was still naturally a slow reacting Pokemon.

Bulbasaur stared in wide eyes terror as the vine of the Frenzy Plant moved towards it, ready to crush the little Seed Pokemon. It closed its eyes and waited for the attack to hit and end it.

What it wasn't expecting though was to feel something push it out of the way and away from harm. It blinked as it looked around where it had landed between vines before it looked towards where it had been and to what had saved it.

Its crimson eyes widened in horror at the head of raven hair and the hand that was reaching towards it, limp. "Bulba!"

Pokemon!

He was still crying in Cinthia's arms when he heard that familiar order. The one that had changed everything for him back when he was fifteen.

"Frenzy Plant!" It was that same person who had ordered the attack as well and he knew that Paul had no idea what the attack could do to the Pokemon in question if it landed right. The attack that had destroyed a powerful friendship could easily destroy another.

So Ash quickly pushed Cinthia away and looked towards where he saw the frenzy plant raise into the air and move to slam into the ground again from where it had come. He smiled as his Infernape and Buizel were able to avoid the attack easily by flying into the air and using the attack to move further away from the danger zone.

His eyes widened in horror though as he watched one of the vines head towards his still stunned Bulbasaur. It would land right on top of it if it didn't move. If that happened…

It would be crushed.

So without even thinking about what he was doing, Ash dashed with full speed towards his defenseless Pokemon and jumped over several fines and dodged underneath others with speed that he had no idea he even had. He was going to make it a close call, but if he dived towards his Bulbasaur just like he was doing right now…then he…should…be…able…to… PUSH IT OUT OF THE WAY!

He smiled as he watched his Pokemon fly out of the way of the attack.

If only he could've followed suit.

His eyes widened in pain as he felt the attack slam into his back, slamming him into the ground and pinning him there. He coughed and blood splattered from his mouth and then trailed down his chin. He smiled again though as he watched his Bulbasaur move and look around, but he passed out just as his Pokemon looked towards him, his hand still out stretched from saving one of his oldest and best friends.

Pokemon!

_"Use Frenzy Plant and crush that rodent!" Paul yelled as he threw a hand out towards his Pokemon to encourage the attack forward. Ash gulped as he watched the Torterra raise up onto its hind legs and slam into the ground, summoning the frightening attack._

_ "Use Quick Attack and dodge along the Vines Pikachu!" Ash ordered, sweating as he knew that the next few battles could determine it all. His other Pokemon were knocked out by Paul earlier, but Ash had done the same to the lilac haired boy. Both were down to their last Pokemon and it just so happened to be the same Pokemon that they had started their journey with. _

_ Ash's eyes widened in horror as he watched his Pikachu get fling into the air by a tossing vine and as Pikachu began to come down towards the earth another vine slammed into him before Ash could say any command. The vine slammed so hard into the mouse Pokemon that it hit the ground with a loud crash and then a 'CRUNCH!'_

_ "PIKAAAAA!"  
Ash's eyes widened even more as his little Pokemon cried out in pain. "Pikachu!" Ash cried as he ignored the ref and ran straight into the still flying Frenzy Plant. He was hit several times and sent flying, but he just got back onto his feet each time and ran towards the sound of his Pokemon crying out in pain and terror. He wasn't sure what had happened but he had a feeling that Pikachu wouldn't be able to finish the battle anyways and he wasn't about to make it._

_ He reached the area where his little Mouse Pokemon was pinned to the ground and Ash cried out in his own horror as he saw the puddle of red that the little yellow creature laid in, struggling to pull itself out from under the vine with a pained expression its face and tears falling down from its eyes. _

_ "Pikachu! Hold on buddy, I'll get you out from under there." Ash yelled as he slid next to the spot his buddy was at. He struggled for several agonizing moments against the Frenzy Plant, lifting it up as much as he could and enough for his friend to pull itself out from underneath. "It's okay bud, I'll get you help." Ash said as he careful and gently picked up the electric type, ignoring the shocks that his distressed friend sent through his body as he did so. _

_ He quickly stood up from where he was and jumped on top of a finally still vine, running along it to get out of the stadium and to the closest Pokemon Center. He ignored the announcement that said tha Paul had won and instead concentrated on ignoring the red covering his hands and clothes and the pained cried of his now thankfully passed out Pokemon._

_ He needed to get his Pokemon help and he was going to do it with everything he had and so he ran from the stadium and headed towards the Center that was nearby, knowing that this was Pikachu's chance at being anywhere near okay again, and so he entered the Center hoping his friend would be alright._

_ If only his prayers and hopes were answered._

_ Nurse joy walked out of the operation room with a saddened look on her face as she shook her head. Ash felt his eyes tear up in sorrow as he bowed his head and wept for his friend that had been lost._

_Pokemon!_

Gary stared in worry at the door that had the room his friend was inside of at the moment, gnawing on his fingernails as he waited for the doctor to come out of the room.

It had taken time and several people to get Ash out from underneath vine and then an ambulance was called to carry him to the hospital from there. Once Gary had arrived Ash had already been in surgery and he was still in after nine hours of being under the knife.

He wasn't sure how bad the damage had been but apparently it had been bad enough that Ash would be lucky if he'd ever walk again.

Gary though had made sure to call both his grandpa and Delia Ketchum so both knew what had happened and then the entire lab assistants and workers were there at the hospital, all waiting for news on Ash. Bulbasaur sat at Gary's feet, eyes staying on the door that its trainer was behind, worry and fear reflected in its eyes.

Then finally, Paul was leaning against the wall off to the side, out of the way and out of sight just in case someone decided to attack him. Everyone who knew Ashley Catching was there and all were waiting to hear news on whether she'd alright and back up or if she'd be dead and buried soon.

The light to signal an operation was going on turned off and out walked the doctor that had been working on Ash. Gary stood up instantly and Bulbasaur ran passed the man into the room where it would be checking on its trainer. No one stopped the Seed Pokemon.

The doctor looked at the crowd and sighed as he began to speak.

Pokemon!

A.N. Hehe, I've left it at a cliffy. I hope you all liked this chapter; it was kinda epic with all kinds of action going on, not to mention that Ash was pissed! Wow. That even surprised me by how pissed I made him. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed and please review. I want to know what you all think.


	7. The Pain of Being Alone

Chapter Seven

The Pain of Being Alone

_ He couldn't remember much during the time he had Pikachu cremated and sent to Professor Oaks to be buried. He knew that he had sent all of his Pokemon back to Professor Oak's lab so they could be taken care of there and that he had bought several supplies before he left the town. Dawn and Brock hadn't been able to find him while he left the area; he had made sure that he had stayed away from them as well, hidden so they couldn't say anything to him. _

_ He climbed several of the mountains in Sinnoh before hitting Iron Island by getting a ride from a boat heading there and he stayed there for several months before he met a surprisingly familiar face._

_ He was being chased by several Onixs and Geodudes when the command of an Aura Sphere had appeared and he stopped running. The Onixs and Geodudes had disappeared and standing in their place was Riley and his Lucario._

_ "What are you doing here Ash?" He had asked as he approached the younger boy, a smile on his face. "I hope you're okay."_

_ Ash just shrugged his shoulders and pulled the cloak he had found closer to his body, hiding his face in the hood of the cloth so the other couldn't see his face and how gaunt he most likely looked. _

_ Riley frowned at that before he grabbed Ash by the shoulder and began to steer him towards an unknown area. Ash had no choice but to follow the paths that Riley pushed him onto and soon they were sitting at a campsite with a fire warming his cold limbs for the first time in what seemed like years. Riley kept himself busy by preparing something to eat and Ash's mouth watered at the smell of the stew._

_ Once Riley had handed him a bowl of the delicious smelling stew he downed it in three gulps, holding his bowl out for more. Riley had stared at him in astonishment before smiling and refilling his bowl with more._

_ Ash couldn't remember when he had last had a warm meal. He had been living off of the sparse vegetation of Iron Island and some bread he had gotten from passing trainers or workers that were nice enough to do so. Otherwise he hasn't really eaten much since he arrived but Riley was exceedingly nice and allowed him to have four servings before he was finally full. _

_ "Now, would you like to tell me what you are doing here?" The elder trainer asked as he looked the younger over, noticing several things that startled him. One being that the once strong and proud looking boy he once knew no longer showed his face, not to mention he seemed to be exceedingly underweight, more so than he was the last they talked. "Will you show me your face?" He asked gently._

_ Ash hesitated several moments before he nodded and lowered his hood, showing his shaggy hair that now reached passed his ears and fell into his eyes. His cheeks were hollowed out and there were dark bags underneath his eyes. His skin was covered in dirt and grim, as if he hadn't bothered to bathe for a long time and all the clothes he wore worn just as bad, the white t-shirt and jeans were ripped in several places while his hands were left bare, the gloves and vest nowhere in sight. It didn't help that no shoes and no backpack seemed to be anywhere near or on the boy. What scare Riley the most though was his eyes. _

_ They were dead._

_ "What has happened to you my friend?" Riley asked as he stoked the fire to keep the other warmed, his Lucario now sitting down next to Ash, worried the other would pass out from the way that Ash looked like he was ready to fall over in a dead faint._

_ Ash frowned as he thought about what to say before opening his mouth to speak. His voice was hoarse and very quiet, hardly louder than a whisper. "My friend was killed." Ash said and Riley had to lean in to hear what he said, already guessing that Ash hadn't spoken in a long time._

_ "I see." Riley said as he stared at the malnourished and depressed boy, trying to figure out which friend could cause such a terrible turn in the boy. _

_ It was his Lucario that spoke the answer for him, even though only Riley could hear it. Riley stared at his Lucario in astonishment before nodding his head in agreement. It was the only way that a trainer could take such a deciding-ly bad turn in attitude. "I am sorry your Pikachu was taken from you Ash, but do you think you are going about this the right way?" Riley asked as he turned back towards the boy._

_ Ash furrowed his brow in frustration as he shook his head. He already knew what he was doing wasn't the best way to go about things, but he couldn't think of anything to do right now. He had gone on a rampage after his Pikachu had been killed and he was afraid to go anywhere near anyone until he could keep himself from losing his temper like he had at the beginning. Right now he felt that he needed to gain control of himself and grieve for his friend so he could come back from the pain._

_ "Can't go back yet." Ash stated as he looked away from Riley and stood to leave. _

_ He didn't expect the ground to rush up at him like it did._

_Pokemon!_

_ Riley looked at the sleeping Ash, his mind wondering on how to help the young man in front of him. Riley too knew of the pain of losing his first Partner, rather chipper Empoleon who had died from old age. He had no idea how it felt to have a Pokemon die in battle though and he wondered if that was what had happened to Ash's Pikachu. The Aura Guardian finally sighed and shrugged his shoulders on that subject to ask Ash later._

_ For the moment he wondered how he would help Ash recover from the loss of his Pikachu and whether the boy would like his help anyways. It was his Lucario who once again came up with an idea that would hopefully help the boy in healing his heart. _

_ Riley looked at Lucario with curious eyes as the Aura Pokemon brought his bag over to him and grunted at him. Riley gave the Lucario a look as he opened the bag to reveal a small Poke-egg that he had been carrying around for a week now. "Are you sure?" Riley asked as he looked at his Pokemon._

_ Lucario scoffed at him as he looked back at Ash and then back towards his trainer, crossing his arms over his chest with a firm glare. Riley laughed as he nodded his head in agreement. "Alright then, this little guy now has a new owner." Riley said as he took the egg out and sat it right next to Ash._

_ The boy instantly curled his arm around the egg even with his weakened state, curling his body to protect it. Riley smiled at that since it showed that the boy was still in there, still human, and still alive somewhere within his mind and heart. "Maybe this will really work than." Riley thought as he looked at the boy again, his eye landing on a single Pokeball on the lad's belt. "Hm, I think I know just what to do with this as well." Riley said as he reached for the ball and took it. "Watch him Lucario, he should be asleep for a while, I'll return as soon as I can." _

_ With that Riley disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind a boy, an egg, and a watchful Lucario behind to complete his task._

_Pokemon!_

The light to signal an operation was going on turned off and out walked the doctor that had been working on Ash. Gary stood up instantly and Bulbasaur ran passed the man into the room where it would be checking on its trainer. No one stopped the Seed Pokemon.

The doctor looked at the crowd and sighed as he began to speak. "Well, it seems that Ash…"_  
_"Ashley Catchling Doc!" Gary interrupted right quick as he glanced at the waiting room where several people were staring at him in confusion. "She's going by Ashley Catchling right now doctor."

The doctor blinked in surprise, his dark eyebrows rising in his spiky black hair before he smiled and nodded his head before a frown replaced the smile. "Well Ashley died on the operation table two times before we were able to stabilize her." He stated as he looked at them all, still wiping his hands on a towel. "We had to fix several ruptured organs, she had five of her ribs broken and two of them were puncturing her left lung. Luckily her spine stayed in tack for the most part with only one disk fracturing slightly. It'll heal and she should have all use of her limbs by the time she leaves." He informed with a gentle smile.

Gary sighed with relief as he fell to the floor, his knees turning to jelly afterwards. The assistants were all cheering in the background while Paul was smirking with his eyes closed. 'Knew you were tough Ketchum.' He thought as he turned back towards the doctor and frowned at the serious look that had come onto the man's face.

"There is one thing that has me worried though." The doctor admitted as he looked at the group of concerned friends. "During the operation I noticed several oddities with Ashley Catchling." He admitted and took the clipboard from a nurse that had come from the room and looked over the information printed on it.

Gary was frowning as he waited for the diagnoses from the doctor, his mind running over hundreds of possibilities that could be wrong with his friend. He could hardly stand the wait as the doctor continued to run over the information in his hands. "Well, what the hell is wrong then?!" Gary spat as he looked at the doctor, his face contorted in frustration and worry.

The doctor looked up at the Gym Leader with a frown before shaking his head and placing a hand on his hip. "Miss Ashley's entire digestive system shows a great deal of Malnourishment not to mention damage from other injuries that have gone untreated for some time. We were able to fix the damages done but she will continue to have the scar tissue from when she first gained the injury." The doctor explained as he looked at Gary straight in the eye. "I'm also going to put her on a diet to keep her digestive track from doing any damage from her prolonged period without proper nutrition, I expect her to follow that so any damage done will eventually heal. I also want to set up appointments twice a month to keep track of her progress."

Gary sighed in relief at this before nodding his head. "I'll make sure that she'll be there. Will it be alright if I attend with her so I know what she needs to do so she doesn't make it any worse?" He asked quickly.

The doctor nodded with a smile before turning down the hallway. "I've had her moved to a different room for recovery. Only two people at a time can enter so try and not disturb her too much, she's going to need all the rest she needs." With that he left them with only the room number as the last thing he spoke.

Gary gulped as he turned towards all of the relieved assistants and smiled at them. "Well, looks like Ashley will be fine so you can all go back to work while I go and check up on her. Don't let this interfere with anything, you know what she's like." He said with a shrug of his shoulders at the looks they were giving her. "She hates being a burden."

With a collective sounds of affirmative from the group they dispersed and Gary took off towards Ash's room with a sigh and his hand running through his hair. "Man am I glad that she's going to be okay." Gary said as he walked down the hall to the elevator.

"Hn, Ketchum is too much of an idiot to die." Paul said as he appeared next to the gym leader.

Gary nodded his head in agreement and it was several moments later that he realized who it was that was standing next to him. "What the hell do you think you're doing here?!" Gary yelled out as he pointed at Paul with a finger to the face.

Paul rolled his shoulders as the elevator opened and he stepped inside with Gary right behind him. "Going to see Ketchum of course. Why else would I still be here?" He asked as he looked at Gary with a deadpanned look.

Gary glared at him as the elevator began to move. "I don't think you should come and see her." Gary said as he turned towards the door. "I doubt Ash would want to see you anyways, you're the one that has caused all of this to happen in the first place." Gary stated with his arms crossed over his chest.

Paul glared at him again as he fisted his hands deep in his pockets. "It's not like I meant for him to get hurt or for his Pikachu to die." He stated as he looked away with a scowl. "It was an accident."

Gary's glare turned into a frown with furrowed brows as he looked at the teenager. "Did you ever even think about some of the attacks you were using?" Gary asked as he turned his full attention onto Paul. "Some of those attacks are highly dangerous, even with the inhibitors deterring most of the Pokemon's energy away from the attack."

The technology had been created when too many Pokemon had been killed in battles. The technology worked by transferring the energy that is used in attacks away and into the inhibitors instead, constantly turning deadly attacks into knock-out hits. Though some attacks were still highly deadly and could kill if used wrong.

Paul shook his head at that information. "How was I supposed to know that Frenzy Plant could crush someone like that!?" Paul yelled as he turned back towards Gary with a set scowl on his face and eyes narrowed.

Gary scoffed at the younger boy as he turned towards the opening elevator door. "It's called common sense and most human beings have it. You should've been able to figure out that giant roots that are bigger than humans and Pokemon alike can crush in a single blow." With that Gary walked out of the elevator, a quiet Paul trailing after him.

They finally came to the door of Ash's room and both stopped right outside to gather themselves before entering. Gary finally just sighed heavily before he gently pushed the door open and entered.

Pokemon!

_"Ugh…" He groaned as he began to wake up. His bones were aching and so was the rest of his body. He wasn't sure what hurt more at the moment, the pain was the wide spread. 'I should stop running into those Golems.' He thought as he slowly began to open his eyes to a darkened underside of a cave, safely hidden away from anymore Pokemon._

_ 'What happened?' He asked himself as he began to look around, his eyes landing on a fire that was crackling merrily and then towards a rounded shape that lay next to his head and in front of the fire. He narrowed his eyes to focus on the object and almost yelled out in surprise when the object moved back and forth from its place in front of him._

_ He realized what it was soon enough and all he could do was stare at the egg. For that was what it was, a Pokemon egg. He wasn't sure what kind of Pokemon was inside but he could tell the egg was blue with a black tip and then three black triangles that were all connected at the bottoms though the triangles were upside down. He stared at the egg for what seemed forever before it moved again and again and it just kept moving. He wasn't sure what was happening but he had a feeling that he was the cause of it somehow._

_ "Ah, so you are awake." He blinked and looked towards the other side of the fire where a shadow sat. He did recognize the shadow and he gulped as he remembered what had happened earlier. "I was wondering when you would next wake." Riley said with a soft smile, stirring a pot of something over the fire._

_ Ash blinked as he tried to remember if there had been a pot there earlier, but his mind was much too clouded to think properly. "How…" He coughed as his throat was dry but he ignored it to instead ask his question. "How long was I out?" He asked with his hoarse voice that sounded no louder than a whisper._

_ Riley smiled at him as he leaned back on the log he had scrounged up earlier, tipping his hat back a little so Ash could see his face clearer. "You've been out of it for about four days. I was starting to wonder if I should've just taken you to the nearest hospital." Riley admitted._

_ Ash frowned at that but his attention was soon caught by the swaying egg once again as it rocked back and forth gently on the pillow it was on. "Wha…" Ash said as the egg suddenly began to glow brightly, almost blinding the newly awakened trainer._

_ "Ah, looks like it's finally ready to hatch." Riley commented as his Lucario suddenly came to stand at Ash's head, intent crimson eyes watching the egg intently. Ash could only gulp as the glow from the egg became brighter and the egg began to shape into an actual Pokemon._

_ Ash stared as the glow dissipated and in its place left a little blue Pokemon that blinked its crimson eyes open and looked straight at Ash. The baby Pokemon stared at Ash with curiosity before suddenly its eyes glowed a bright blue and Ash felt power rush through him before it disappeared and the little Pokemon's eyes returned to the crimson eyes that its evolved form also held. "Riolu." Ash whispered as his eyes began to droop closed, his energy spent after that unexpected power surge had disappeared._

_ Riley smiled as he watched Ash's eyes glow a bright blue for several seconds before they faded back into the dim brown he had found the boy with. "Yes, Riolu, the Emanation Pokemon. He is the pre-evolved form of Lucario." Riley announced as he stirred the stew once again. "Looks like he's bonded with you too." Riley said before he looked at Ash again and blinked in surprise at the sight that met him._

_ Ash was fast asleep again, his head still facing the fire so Riley could see the peaceful look on the boy's face. Right next to his chest was the little Riolu, curled up next to its new master, little head tucked down against its chest as it pressed up against Ash. Lucario looked down at the pair before turning towards Riley and saying something to its own master._

_ Riley blinked in even more surprise before staring at his Lucario with wide eyes. "You can't be telling the truth!" Riley exclaimed suddenly, neither the Riolu nor Ash stirred from the loud shout. "We would've noticed it sooner if it was true!" Riley argued as his Lucario rolled its eyes at him and crossed its arms over its chest._

_ Riley felt his eye twitch as Lucario went off on several reasons why they hadn't known sooner and how they could've been stopped or intercepted. Then he felt how smug his Lucario was as it finished listing off every reason and he couldn't help but glare at it. _

_ "Alright, I get it, but what do you want me to do about it?" He asked as he looked back at Ash with furrowed eyebrows. An offhand comment made by Lucario caught his attention and he whipped his head up to look at the chuckling Aura Pokemon. "I guess I deserved that, but your right either way." Riley replied as he returned his eyes back towards Ash. "I guess we have no other choice but to teach him how to use aura."_

_ With that the two elder beings fell silent as they thought about how they were going to teach the two youngers how to gain control of their power._

_Pokemon!_

_Ash glared at the little Pokemon that was staring back at him with the exact same glare. "Stay here with Riley." Ash ordered and turned to leave only to stop as soon as he heard the patter of the paws on the ground._

_ It had been several weeks since Riley had found him and he had quickly been nursed back into health within those weeks. He wasn't a hundred percent but he was good enough to go on his own again. The only problem was that the little Emanation Pokemon thought it should follow him. He had tried in several different ways to keep that damn thing with Riley but the other trainer refused to help him out._

_ "I told you I don't want another Pokemon!" Ash growled towards Riley as he turned back to glare at the little fighting type again. _

_ Riley shrugged his shoulders at the younger trainer with a smirk as he leaned forward onto his knees with his elbows, his Lucario leaning against the wall of the cave they were in. "I can't help what he does. He's not my Pokemon after all." Riley told him as stared at Ash. _

_ Ash growled again as he looked at the older trainer. "He's not mine either, I haven't caught him yet." Ash said before he turned to leave again, coming to another stop as Riolu followed each step. "I said stay!" Ash shouted startling Riley and the two Fighting Pokemon. "I don't want another Pokemon and I meant it!" Ash shouted as he took of running._

_ Riley stared after the other trainer with wide eyes as he watched the cloak swirl behind Ash. "Wonder why he reacted like that." Riley thought as he stood up with both the fighting types staring at him, Riolu with tears in its eyes. "Don't worry little one, we're going to find him once I pick something up." Riley said as he began to pack up his supplies. "You'll be able to return to him soon, I promise." _

_ Riolu stared at the man's back for several long moments before it nodded its head determined and looked back out the way that Ash had ran, determined to find its master no matter what._

_ Once he had packed everything up he quickly took off towards the little supply shop and Blacksmith that Iron Island had and picked up his order from the Blacksmith before taking off to find the wayward trainer. "We need to hurry before he gets into trouble again." Riley said as he remembered when he had first found Ash._

_ The three traveled quickly and Lucario easily defeated any Pokemon that tried to stop them or attack them, which were far and few between luckily. Riolu had even tried to fight but had been stopped by Riley grabbing it before it could attack. The little Pokemon had just hatched a few weeks ago and wasn't quite ready to fight just yet._

_ It was days later thought when they finally found Ash and Riley's fears were proved correct. _

_ Ash was surrounded by a gang of Lairon; all were pawing the ground in eagerness to attack. Riley's eyes though were dragged to a Lairon that was right the middle of the rest, its eyes glowing a demonic red in its anger. Riley had never seen such a Lairon before and this one was quite different since the normally gray armor was a blue color and the white of its helmet and spikes looked like a sand colored brown. It was definitely a shiny Pokemon; Riley didn't even need to think about it._

_ Ash was stuck up against a dead end, glaring at the surrounding Lairon as he looked for a way out. "I'm not here to hurt you I was just passing by." Ash said as he crouched to the ground to be on eye level with the steel type. "Just let me by and I'll be out of your way." Ash stated as he waited for a reply._

_ The blue Lairon growled at him before slamming a foot into the ground two times. It was apparently a signal as two Lairon opened their mouths and screeched with such a horrible sound that it forced Ash to bow his head and cover his ears. The metal sound was terrible and a great distraction so that anther two Lairon charged with double-edge that Ash was hit head on, throwing him up against the wall with a sickening crunch. The two Lairon that had attacked shook of the resulting recoil to rejoin the now silent group._

_ The Shiny Lairon glared at Ash again and this time it huffed as it began to charge up for an attack. Riley shook his head from the affect the Metal Sound had had on him as did the two fighting types as they stared down at Ash in growing horror as they watched Ash struggle to sit up, blood dripping from his mouth and a blotch of red appearing on his stomach._

_ Riley's eyes widened as he realized the state that Ash was in and then at the realization of the attack that the Lairon was charging up. "How the heck does that Lairon know Dragon Rage?!" Riley yelped in surprise and then looked at Ash and then back at the glowing Lairon. "He won't survive that attack! He'll be killed if it connects!" Riley said in horror as he and his Lucario stood up to go and help the boy out. "Stay here Riolu…" Riley stared at the spot that the Emanation Pokemon had been but was now not._

_ Ash watched as the blue glow of the Dragon Rage appeared in the Lairon's chest before it released it out and it headed straight for him. 'So this is how it ends?' Ash asked himself as he watched the dragon shaped attack near him and his eyes began to droop in tiredness and from blood loss. "Guess…it can't be…helped." He said out loud as his eyes began to close all the way._

_ His eyes snapped open to stare at the back of a little blue Pokemon, brown eyes widening as he realized what was happening. "Damn it Riolu get out of the way before you die!" Ash yelled at the Pokemon but it ignored him as it glared at the attack with its little paws thrown out by its side in a protective stance. "You'll die Riolu! Move!" Ash ordered as tears threatened to fall from his eyes._

_ 'No!' Ash blinked at the voice that entered his mind. It was male and childish but it held a determination that shouldn't have been in it. 'I won't let you suffer anymore!' It yelled and all Ash could do was stare at the Riolu in front of him. He hadn't even been aware that the little Pokemon could communicate with him yet._

_ The Dragon Rage was close to hitting the little Pokemon and Ash couldn't let the Emanation Pokemon get hurt because of him, so he forced his body to move and he quickly pulled Riolu to his chest and turned away from the attack, covering the fighting type with his body and cloak. "Don't think that my suffering will end just because you decided to play hero." Ash said as he felt the heat of the attack begin to come into contact with him._

_ Riley stared down at where the Riolu was being pulled towards Ash with wide eyes. The attack was only inches from Ash and there was no way that either his Lucario or him could reach the two in time. "No! ASH! RIOLU!" Riley yelled as he watched the Dragon Rage connect._

_ A bright blue light flashed and Riley could only watch as a blue aura surrounded the two stopping the Dragon Rage in its tracks. _

_ "What just happened?" Riley asked as he watched the Lairon stare in shock at the shaking Ash and Riolu._

_ Lucario was unable to reply._

_ Riley soon shook out of his shock, Lucario following right behind him, and quickly jumped down into the area, landing right in front of the Lairon with a glare. Lucario landed in front of Riley with an Aura Sphere already gathered between its paws. Once it had landed though it fired at the Shiny Lairon, throwing it backwards._

_ "Leave before we're forced to make you." Riley announced with anger lacing his voice as he commanded the Lairon._

_ The shiny glared at them with demonic red eyes before snorting and turning to leave. The other Lairon quickly followed it and soon Riley was left behind with the two blue Pokemon and one very injured trainer._

_ Riley quickly turned to the slightly smoking back of Ash's and moved over towards him, a hand coming to land on the boy's shoulder. "Ash? Are you okay?" Riley asked as he waited for a reply._

_ Ash glanced over his shoulder at Riley, his raven hair stuck to his forehead with sweat and a weak grin on his face. "Good, you got here…" Ash's eyes quickly rolled up into his head and he fell sideways, pulling the Riolu down with him._

_ "Ash!" Riley yelled as he noticed all of the blood pouring around the other boy. "I've got to get you to a hospital!" Riley shouted as he picked up the boy, the Riolu standing up and quickly following the older man. _

_ 'Master…' The Riolu thought as he trailed behind the Lucario and human that was now carrying his master. 'Please, be okay.'_

_Pokemon!_

_ 'Master?' He groaned as that childish voice pierced through the fog in his mind, bringing him to the waking world slightly. 'Are you okay Master?' It asked and quickly bringing him to the surface of consciousness even more. _

_ "Hey, don't disturb him; he was hurt pretty bad by that Double-edge before." He knew that voice and he groaned in annoyance as he realized what that childish voice meant but he couldn't seem to dislike it any more than he did when he had first heard it._

_ "Doesn't…" He coughed roughly as he forced his eyes open into a squint, ignoring the stinging he felt when the light blinded him. "Water…" He changed the sentence he was going to say to instead to get something to clear his dry throat. His head was quickly but gently picked up enough so he could swallow the cold water placed against his cracked lips. He gulped greedily before the cup was taken away. _

_ "Easy, you've been asleep for a few days now. You don't want to make yourself sick from drinking too fast now do you?" Riley asked as he returned the cup back to Ash and watched as the boy took slow sips instead this time. "Glad to have you back with the living." Riley said as he laid Ash back against his pillows._

_ Ash looked at him tiredly but gave a weak smile before he turned to his right and looked at the worried crimson eyes staring at him over the bed's edge. 'Master?' That childish voice asked in his head and Ash knew exactly who it was and smiled at the Riolu and reached a hand over to the Emanation Pokemon, only to stop as his IV tugged at his hand. Ash sighed before looking back at the Pokemon._

_ "My name is Ash, Ash Ketchum; call me Ash instead of Master." Ash said as he turned back to Riley with a light in his eyes that Riley hadn't seen for a while. "Do you have a Pokeball I could have?"_

_Pokemon!_

_ "Thank you again Riley." Ash said as he stared at the older man from across from him. Riolu stood at his side with a smile on his face as he waved at the Lucario that was its sire. "I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have in this last month without you." _

_ Riley nodded his head with a smile on his face as he held a hand out towards Ash, it balled up as if holding something. "I'm glad I could be of help. Here, this is the last thing I could think of to give you to help you with the rest of your journey." He said with a sad smile this time._

_ Ash blinked at him with surprise before he held out a hand and allowed Riley to drop a golden Pokeball in his hand. It was attacked to a silver chain and the ball looked familiar to him for some reason. That was when he saw the lightning bolt on the Pokeball and his head snapped up as he finally realized where Pikachu's ball had disappeared to. _

_ Riley nodded his head as he turned away and began to walk away from the boy. Lucario gave Riolu one more nod and grunt before he followed his trainer, the two disappearing in the distance before Ash could come up with anything to say._

_ Riolu looked up at Ash with curiosity as tears began to trail down his face. 'Ash, why are you crying?' Riolu asked as he grabbed hold of Ash's brown cloak._

_ Ash shook his head as he quickly wiped his face and place the necklace around his neck before looking down at Riolu with a smile. "No real reason Riolu, let's get going. I need to make you stronger after all." He stated as he turned and walked in the opposite direction Riley had taken._

_ 'Am I going to learn to be as strong as Papa is?' Riolu asked as he ran ahead of Ash in excitement._

_ Ash smiled and nodded his head. "Yes, I'll make you even stronger than your papa." With that the two disappeared into the mountains of Sinnoh._

_Pokemon!_

Gary and Paul blinked as they looked at the other male in the room, unsure of what to think as neither of them knew who he was. It didn't help that the man had a Lucario standing next to him and both of them were watching Ash with saddened faces. The male was sitting in a chair next to the bed and had Bulbasaur in his lap while the Lucario leaned up against the wall, a Riolu held in its arms that was crying and moving its arms around frantically towards Ash. Neither of the other two males could come up with an explanation.

"Who the hell are you?" Gary asked as he pointed at the male who looked up at him with a finger to his lips.

"Be quiet, he's resting you know." The male stated as his hat shifted as he furrowed his eyebrows. "My name is Riley and I was Ash's mentor and the one who gave him his Riolu." He said with a calm smile on his face.

Gary stared at Riley in amazement since Ash had always said he didn't need help from anyone when he was a kid and here this man said he was his friend's mentor.

Paul just stared at the man as if he was crazy.

It was during the stretch of silence that a groan echoed through the room.

Pokemon!

A.N. Okay, so how was that chapter. I decided that I would go over some of what happened while Ash was away and explain how he came to have Riolu as his Pokemon and what not. Hoped you liked it. Please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts even if they're bad.


	8. One Step at a Time

Chapter Eight

One Step at a Time

'Ash!' That childish voice he had gotten to know, he knew that voice. 'Ash please! Wake up! Papa and Riley are here! They came to see us! To see how strong we've gotten!' It screamed in his head as he tried to force himself up from the blissful darkness he had been not too long ago. 'Get up so we can prove we've gotten stronger!'

'Hush young one, your master must rest to heal.' That one was older sounding, gruffer, and calmer than the first. He knew that one too though he hadn't heard it in a while. 'He'll awaken when he is ready.'

"Your Papa is right little one, Ash is a strong soul and will not allow this to keep him down. He will awaken." That hadn't been inside of his head but the voice was just as familiar and comforting as the other two had been and it helped him to wake further.

"Who the hell are you?" That one brought back childhood memories, good ones and bad ones, and he wanted to smile at them but couldn't seem to muster the energy.

"Be quiet, he's resting you know." That smooth voice spoke to his childhood friend. "My name is Riley and I was Ash's mentor and the one who gave him his Riolu." Ash would've nodded in agreement if he could but settled with forcing himself to wake up fully.

He groaned as he was finally able to crack his eyes open a little, the light burning at his eyes. He hated when that happened and so he clenched them tightly shut, intent on trying to slowly adjust his eyes. "Anyone get the description of the Onix that trampled me?" He muttered hoarsely as he blinked his eyes open.

"Well, he's alright if he's make those comments." Gary drawled as he stepped over to the side and grabbed the jug of water and a plastic cup. "How bout a drink of water Ash, I'm sure that'll help." He stated as he fill the cup and then held it to Ash's lips.

Ash nodded as he sipped at the cup, already knowing that it would be a bad idea to try and chug any water given to him. His last trip to the hospital had told him that much. "How long have I been out?" He asked as he struggled to sit up, but was pushed back down onto the bed by Gary.

"Almost an entire day, I'm surprised you're even up with the injuries you had." Gary stated at the other male with a glare as Ash tried to sit up again. "Stay down or you'll tear your stiches you idiot. You just had major surgery where you died twice before they could stabilize you." Gary nearly shouted but was able to keep his voice down.

Ash blinked in surprise as he looked at his longtime friend, not bothering to try and sit up anymore. "I died?" He finally asked as he looked at Gary with wide eyes.

Gary nodded his head as he turned away to keep his tears hidden as they fell down his face. "Several of your organs had ruptured with two out of five broken ribs puncturing your lungs and one of the disks in your spine is fractured. You're lucky you're alive!" With that Gary left the room before he lost anymore of his composure.

Ash could only watch as his oldest friend left the room, unsure of what to say about what had just happen, and unable to call for Gary to wait. "Oh man, I really screwed up this time." Ash finally muttered as he turned to look at the other faces in the room. "Riley, what are you doing here?" He asked as he looked at his mentor and friend.

Riley smiled at him as he stood up and placed the Bulbasaur onto the bed next to Ash's head before motioning for his Lucario to come over with Riolu. "I came to visit only to find out that you had been injured terribly. I thought this would be perfect to see how your powers had improved." Ash quickly looked away with a blush on his face. "Or how they've gone done hill apparently." Riley said with a raised eyebrow.

Paul snorted and that brought a glare from Ash onto him. "If that was what he did when he tried to kill me earlier, than I would say he's out of control." The glare from Ash only intensified as the downed man struggled to sit up again, only to be stopped from a look from Riley.

"May I ask who you are exactly young man?" The Aura Guardian asked as he motioned for Lucario to place Riolu down and to stand in front of Ash, blocking the injured male from Paul if need be.

"I'm Paul Allen; I'm from Veilstone City, the Sinnoh Region. I battled against Ash in the Sinnoh League, though I beat him when it came down to it." Paul stated as he leaned against the wall next to the door and crossed his arms, his stare never leaving Riley.

Riley glanced at Ash who had his crossed over his chest the best he could and his hands were clenching into his arms, nails biting into his skin harshly while his eyes were merely slits staring at the back of Lucario's head. "I'm guessing there's more to that but I'm not going to ask about that now, what I will ask is this though. Please leave, you are disturbing my student and I do not take kindly to someone disturbing his healing." Riley stated as he sent a stern gaze at the teenager.

Paul sneered before standing back up. "Fine. I'm out of here." With that he left, not bothering to give another glance back at Ash.

Riley sighed as he turned back to look at Ash, knowing that what was going to happen next would not be pleasant for the boy. "Would you like for me to speed up the healing process like I did those few years ago?" He asked quietly, eyes already beginning to glow a dull blue.

Ash looked up at him, his own starting to glow in a dull blue. "Do what you can." Ash stated as he held out his hand without the IV. Riley nodded and took the hand, closing his own eyes as Ash copied him.

Bulbasaur watched in fascination as a blue glow surrounded the two men, crimson eyes darting between them wondering what was going on. Lucario had a hold on Riolu again, both watching the process with their own crimson eyes. Riolu with more concentration than Lucario.

It was several minutes before the glow disappeared, leaving Riley to stumble into the plastic chair tiredly and Ash to slump further into the bed. "He wasn't kidding, you really were injured." Riley breathed out as his head fell backwards. "Not doing that again for a long while."

Ash could only nod his head in agreement before his eyes slipped shut and he fell into a deep sleep. He never even noticed when Gary came back in the room to find both of them asleep with Bulbasaur snuggled up against his trainer's right side and Riolu in the same position on his left. The Lucario was standing guard next to Ash's bed, leaning against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest, crimson eyes landing on Gary with a glare.

"Guess he's had enough for today." Gary said as he walked over to a cabinet and opened it to reveal a pile of blankets. "Let me get this dude covered up and I'll leave them to rest." Gary said to the Aura Pokemon as he walked over to Riley and laid a blanket over the man and then going back to grab a pillow to set his head under, the man not once stirring from his sleep. "There, now, watch them both. I'll be back tomorrow to check on Ashley." With that Gary left the room with crimson eyes watching him all the way.

Pokemon!

Gary stared at Ash, eyes wide as he took the other male in, wondering how he was standing when he had literally just been crushed 24 hours ago. Ash was standing, wearing the clothes that Gary had loaned him the first day that he had returned to Viridian City, long purple shirt that was much too big for him and a pair of baggy brown pants, hair up in a high ponytail and voice changer already placed on his ear and voice already that of a girl. "How the hell is this possible?" Gary asked as he looked at the male disguised as a girl.

Ash looked up at his friend with his head tilted and blinking. "I'll explain everything that's happened but it'll have to be until after we get Ash out of here." Riley said as he walked through the door with a doctor right behind him, baffled as the results he was staring at. "Now then, I've got her signed out and we'll be ready to leave as soon as the doctor has schedule these appointments that he wants with Ashley."

Ash looked at Riley with surprise at this and then at the doctor, mind running to try and find out why he would need to be scheduled in the first place. "Why, what's wrong with me?" She asked as she looked between Gary, Riley, and the Doctor.

"Nothing is terribly wrong with you Miss Catchling, you just have the signs of being malnourished in the past and that does come with damage, even if you don't feel it. I want to schedule appointments with you to make sure that that damage is healing along and to make sure you are eating a specialized diet that will help with that damage." The doctor explained quickly before Ashley could panic.

"I would've thought that would heal like everything else." Ashley said as she looked at Riley who shook his head in response.

"No, I can only heal life threatening injuries, little ones I'd pass over to concentrate on the bigger ones. All the small injures will have to heal on their own." Riley stated as he shared a look with Ashley.

The guy disguised girl nodded with a scowl before returning her attention to the doctor. "So I have to be on a specialized diet and have appointments, anything else while we're at it?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

The doctor nodded his head as he looked down at his clip board and pulling a sheet of paper off of it and handing it to her. "This is the diet I want you on and some exercises too that should help with any lasting injuries you have." He handed her another piece of paper that she took but both quickly disappeared from her hands.

"I'll take these and make sure you follow them." Gary said as he looked over the papers with determination. "No way am I going to let you get out of this one Ashley." Gary said as he gave her a look.

She scowled and crossed her arms as she looked back at the doctor. "One time Gary, one time and you refuse to let it go." She said. "Now then, when do you want this appointment?"

Once they had everything scheduled and put together they left the hospital, Ash glaring at both males that walked in front of him. "You guys know I can take care of myself right?" He asked as he glared at the back of their heads. Lucario scoffed at that while he carried Riolu in his arms and Bulbasaur was carried in Riley's. All three Pokemon rolled their eyes at the same time.

"Sure you can, that's why I found you passed out in my backyard." Gary stated as he glanced back at her before continuing on.

Riley quickly fell back to walk with Ash, his eyebrows shut up to his hairline with a frown on his face. "You were passed out in his backyard? I thought you were passed the whole passing out thing." Riley said as he watched Ash closely.

Ash grumbled for several moments before he answered. "I ran out of money and there weren't any non-poisonous foods around for me to pick. By the time I finally got to Viridian and the forests around it, I was already out of it from hunger and Riolu was exhausted. I recalled Riolu to his Pokeball and then continued on. I didn't even realize that it was Gary's yard I'd passed out on until I woke up inside his house ready to fight." Ash explained as he ran a hand over his face. "I didn't mean to, it just happened."

Riley sighed and shook his head as he looked back up to see Gary enter into the gym. "Well, looks like I'll be hanging around for a while then." Riley said as he entered the gym too, Lucario right behind him as Riolu struggled to be released from his papa's grasp. Ash stood outside the gym with his mouth wide open in astonishment, wondering when his life had gotten so screwed up. "Ash! Get in here!" Riley yelled outside, snapping Ash out of his astonishment long enough for him to enter the gym.

Once Ash entered the building though he just about ran right back out. "WELCOME BACK ASHLEY!" The whole gym was gathered there with a large banner that said 'WELCOME BACK' and party poppers went off with streamers flying everywhere with confetti. Several of the Pokemon from the Sanctuary were cheering at her return.

She blinked as she finally came back to earth and stared at the group. "I don't think I deserved this kind of welcome." She said as she looked at everyone. "But I thank you for it anyways." Ashley finished with a smile and was quickly engulfed into a dog pile from the Pokemon.

Once everyone had welcomed her back and either hugged her or shook her hand, she was left with Riley, Gary, and Cinthia while most of the Pokemon returned to the Sanctuary, including Lucario, Riolu, and Bulbasaur. "So, you're a male." Cinthia said once they were all alone.

Ash blinked in surprise as he looked at her, arms hanging down at his side. He gulped as he stared at the nurse speechless.

Cinthia shook her head as she stared at the young male in front of her, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "It was when I hugged you in the Sanctuary; I noticed you didn't really have a chest. At first I thought it was because you had an illness or you were just a late bloomer, but then Gary yelled out in the hospital and I knew." She explained with a smirk.

Ash ended up just sticking his tongue out at her. "So you figured it out, what are you going to do with the information now?" He asked her, thought it was odd for Cinthia since Ash still sounded like a girl.

"Nothing." She said as she turned to leave. "I'm just going to keep my mouth shut since you must've had a reason to hide the fact that you're male. It's your life and your secret; I see no reason to butt into it." With that Cinthia disappeared back towards her office.

"Aright then, I'm going to go change and then head towards the Sanctuary, I don't want the Pokemon to fall behind in their training." Ash said as he went to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand on each of his shoulders.

"I don't think so Ash, we need to go over your exercises and your diet plan."

"Not to mention a schedule for me to train you better one your Aura."  
"And for someone to explain to me how the hell you healed so fast."

"Not to mention Lucario has asked for a battle against Riolu."

"You also need to tell me what the hell happened on your journey to give you malnourished damage to your digestive system!"

Ash could only shrink away from them the best he could as they continued. "I think my life just got harder than it already was."

Pokemon!

"Oh come on! How else am I supposed to train them if I can't work with them!?" Ash cried out as Gary pulled him away from the group of Tauros he had been working with, trying to increase their strength by having them push a boulder around the Sanctuary one at a time. Ash himself was pushing a small boulder that was shorter than him so he could show the Tauros that if he could do it than so could they.

Gary sighed as he stopped just in front of the door that led out of the Sanctuary. "You aren't supposed to be straining yourself Ash." He stated as he turned to glare at the younger male with his hands on his hips. "You only just got out of the hospital yesterday and just because Riley helped that along don't mean you're fully healed!"

Ash pouted as he looked at his friend. "I know that but if I don't work alongside the Pokemon then they won't follow my instructions, so I _have_ to work with them!" Ash explained quickly. "Otherwise they'll never get stronger and that heard of Tauros I was working with will be diminished by half when the wild ones are released within the week!"

Gary only shook his head and pointed at the door which Ash backed away from slightly. "Don't make me throw you over my shoulder and carry you like a little kid. You have to go and eat lunch, whether you like it or not." Gary said as he reached for Ash.

Ash shook his head and backed away again. "But I'm not hungry! I'd rather eat when I'm hungry and ready to eat, not when you guys want to shove food down my throat according to a schedule." Ash stated as he ducked under another attempt at Gary trying to grab him.

"I don't care." Gary said as he lunged for Ash again, only to have the boy dodge to the side and dance away from him. "The doctor told us to keep you on a regular diet to help regulate your digestive system! It's supposed to help you heal better you idiot!" Gary yelled as he dove forward in a full body tackle to try and pin his friend.

Ash leapt away and stuck his tongue out at Gary. "I don't think so! I said I'm not hungry so I'm GAH!"

"Are going to go and eat your lunch like the good little boy you are." Riley announced as he began walking out of the Sanctuary, Gary staring after him.

"Put me down Riley! I don't want to eat so I shouldn't have too! Damn it Riley! Put me down!" Ash yelled as he kicked and struggled to get out of his mentor's grip, though Riley held him firmly over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway to the kitchens.

Riley only shook his head and continued walking until he got to his destination, Gary right behind at this point, and only then did he put Ash down. Right in front of a salad. "Now I want you to stay here and eat all of it, no ifs ands or butts about this." Riley stated as he sat next to Ash and pulled a sandwich in front of himself to eat.

Ash glowered at him heatedly but obediently picked up his fork and began to eat, his glare never leaving Riley. Gary came and sat across the duo with his own food and dug in, looking between the two with curious eyes. "So how did the two of you meet?" Gary finally asked after a long while of silence between the trio.

Riley looked at him with a smile and set down his sandwich to take a drink of his water before replying, Ash too busy chewing on his salad. "We met in Sinnoh on Iron Island when team Galactic was causing mayhem there. Ash helped me and Lucario save a lot of Pokemon there along with his friends too." Riley explained.

Gary blinked as he turned to Ash that was now shoving a big amount of salad into his mouth to avoid talking. "You can't seem to avoid getting mixed into something can you Ashley?" Gary asked as he leaned his hand onto his fist with a tired grin.

Ash just glared back at him before he took a long drink of his water. "GARY OAK GET OUT HERE NOW!" A female voice echoed throughout the Gym and laboratories, causing many to cringe. Ash though ended up chocking on his water as it went down the wrong pipe from being startled.

Riley quickly pounded on Ash's back lightly to help him while Gary immediately banged his head onto the table. "I can't believe she came here." Gary grumbled as he looked up to see Riley and Ash staring at him curiously. "I'm not surprised you don't recognize her Ashley, the last time you saw her was just before you left for the Hoenn region." Gary explained causing Ash to suddenly pale in realization.

"What is she doing here?" Ash whispered as she looked towards the cafeteria doors, afraid the woman would come stomping through them any minute. "She doesn't know who I am right?"

Gary shook his head at his friend, knowing that she would be scared about meeting an old time friend. "No she doesn't know you're here, she just drops by every now and then when there's no activity at her gym to chat or to battle. From the way she's yelling now I'm guessing she's looking for a battle." With that Gary stood up at another roar of his name. "I better get out there before she tears the place down." With that he left with his sandwich in hand, eating as he went.

Gary continued eating his sandwich as he entered the front of his gym, staring at the woman that had annoyed him for several years now since he had opened his gym. She had changed greatly over the years, her once short hair held in a side ponytail now trailing down her back in waves with seashell hairclips on the sides of her head to keep her bangs out of her eyes. She still loved wearing jean short shorts that were tattered at the ends with a blue tank top and a yellow vest over that with red and white sneakers on her feet. "Gary! There you are!" The woman said as she walked over to her friend, holding a tadpole looking Pokemon.

"I'm good Misty. What can I do for you and what Pokemon is that? I haven't seen it yet." Gary said at the end, his eyes looking over the tan faced Pokemon, a black body that was highlighted with blue on the sides of its head and a blue tail. "I'm guessing it's a water type since you barely ever get any other type." He commented after a thorough look of the Pokemon.

Misty smiled and nodded her head. "This is a Tympole and I caught it when I went on a trip to Unova for vacation. It's a Tadpole Pokemon and is the first of its evolution line. As you already know it's a water type too and I just couldn't resist! Look at how cute it is!" Misty exclaimed as she held the Pokemon out for him to see closer, right in Gary's face.

Gary stared at the Tympole that stared right back at him with a smile on its face, not seeming to mind that its training was shoving it into another's face. "Nice Misty, did you catch any other Pokemon while you in Unova?" Gary asked as he pushed the water type back towards its trainer.

The mention of other Pokemon got Misty excited and was jumping up and down in excitement as she nodded her head. "Yes! I got a whole new bunch of water Pokemon from Unova and you won't believe some of the ones I caught too! One of them even evolved into a really pretty one too!" This caused her to stop and stare at him with a smile. "That's why I'm here actually! I wanna see how much stronger they've gotten before I use them in official gym battles back in Cerulean and thought you'd offer your services." Misty announced.

Gary stared at her in surprise but rolled his eyes in the end. 'Should've known this was why she came here.' Gary thought as he finished his sandwich and then turned to stare at Misty in the eye. "No, I don't feel like battling." Gary said as a plan started to form in his mind. He didn't really want to battle but he knew someone that could battle against her and leave him alone for a while. "But," Gary held a hand up to stop Misty from complaining, "I got someone who can battle you, just let me go and get her." With that he walked away and back down towards the cafeteria where he knew Ash would be.

He was proven correct as he came in just as Ash finished his lunch and was about to get up to go throw his tray away. "Ashley, I need you to come with me for a second!" Gary shouted and Ashley stared up at him with a tilted head for a second before nodding. "Alright follow me then!" With that Gary walked out of the room with Ashley and Riley both jogging to catch up with him.

"What's up Gary? I thought you were going to be busy dealing with Misty." Ashley said as she looked at her boss and friend.

Gary nodded his head at that. "I was hoping she only wanted to chat but she came here for a battle and I really don't have the time since Eevee has shown signs of evolving soon. I don't want to miss it, so instead I want you to battle her." Gary explained quickly as he came to a stop in front of the doors that held the Pokeballs for the Pokemon in the Sanctuary.

"Wait, you want me to battle Misty? Are nuts!?" Ashley exclaimed as she looked at the brunette that had flung the doors to the room with ease and walked in.

"No I'm not and you are going to battle her. You've shown that you can against Paul." Gary stated as he turned to stare at his assistant. "Besides as my assistant and specialized Pokemon trainer you can battle for me when I am unable to." Gary explained.

Ashley pouted but nodded in the end as she began to walk around the room, picking the Pokemon she would need for her battle against the water type gym leader. "Whatever happened to Paul anyways? I didn't see him when I got out of the hospital and he didn't come back after that visit he made to me too." Ashley said as she picked up her Riolu's Pokeball along with her Dragonite.

Gary ran a hand through his hair and stared at a random shelf of Pokeballs. "I'm quite sure, all I know is that he didn't show up here again so I'm assuming he left to continue his journey. He almost has all of his badges and only needs a few more, including mine, so he'll be back." Gary said as Ashley chose her last Pokemon and left to get her chosen six. "What six did you choose?" Gary asked as he followed Ashley. Riley was right behind them but was quietly watching Ashley as they moved.

"Secret." Ashley stated as she entered the Sanctuary and slammed the doors in the two males' faces before they could get inside.

"I forgot what a pain she could be, anyways, let's head to the arena and wait for her there." Gary said as he turned and left, rubbing at his nose.

"I thought you had that Eevee to take care of." Riley said as he whistles and his Lucario appeared beside him, startling Gary.

Once his heart rate was back to normal Gary shrugged. "I do but we all know that Eevee isn't going to evolve until Ashley is watching, Eevee has taken a shine to Ashley after all. How did Lucario get out of there when the Sanctuary is locked from the inside?" Gary asked since he had heard Ashley lock the door behind her.

Lucario just smirked at him in answer as did Riley. Neither spoke of how and Gary gave it up as a mystery at the moment. They were soon in the arena where Gary spotted an eager Misty standing, tapping her foot on the ground. "Well, where is this mystery opponent I'll be facing?" Misty asked as she glared at Gary.

Gary shook his head in annoyance at her impatience. "She's on her way, she just had to pick up the Pokemon she wants to use against you and then she'll be right here." Gary explained as he took a seat in the audience section with Riley next to him and Lucario behind the both of them in a different row. "She should be here too though so don't worry so much."

Right after Gary finished talking Ashley walked into the room holding onto her Bulbasaur. "Alright, so who am I fighting now?" Ashley asked as she looked towards Gary with a tilted head, playing as if she didn't know the Water Gym leader.

"That would be me! My name is Misty WaterFlower of the Cerulean Gym!" Misty exclaimed as she pointed at Ashley with her pointer finger. "And I'm here to challenge you to a battle!"

Ashley blinked at her in surprise before nodding her head. "Okay. My name is Ashley Catchling and I'm the assistant Gym Leader and Specialized Pokemon Trainer here at the Viridian Gym. I accept your challenge." She said formally with a small bow towards Misty.

Misty smirked as she picked up a Pokeball. "Gary, you'll be the Ref for this battle! No slacking for you!" Misty said as she sent a smile towards Gary who had his head hanging.

"Okay, fine!" Gary suddenly shouted as he stood up and jumped over the wall separating the audience from the field. "I'll judge this but that's it!" Gary stated as he looked between the two. "So choose your first Pokemon!"

Misty smirked again as she threw her first Pokeball up into the air and called out, "Panpour time to shine!"

Ashley blinked at the Pokemon in surprise as she pulled out her new Pokedex she got from Gary after her old one got destroyed. _'Panpour the Spray Pokemon. It does not thrive in dry environments. It keeps itself damp by shooting water stored in its head tuft from its tail.'_

"So a water type Pokemon, alright then. I guess I'll go with you Bulbasaur." Ashley decided as she sat the seed Pokemon down and it leapt out onto the field.

Once Gary was sure that both had chosen a Pokemon did he announce the beginning of the battle. "This battle is between Gym Leader Misty WaterFlower of the Cerulean Gym and Pokemon Trainer Ashley Catching of the Viridian Gym. This is a six on six battle and the winner will be determined when one side's Pokemon have all been knocked out! Battle begin!"

Pokemon!

A.N. Oooohhh, I'm evil. Well that's this chapter and the next will be Misty vs Ash(ley) and then another guest star will appear. I wonder who it could be. Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter so please review and tell me your thoughts. I'm out until next time!


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